Hope on a String
by Elle Wednesday
Summary: In one of her earliest memories, Jinx burned down her house and almost killed everyone in it. But those people are not her family. Wally is the only family she has. Or at least, he's the only family she wants. Sequel to Breaking Free. Kid FlashxJinx
1. Come Undone

**Hope on a String**

Come Undone

"This," I say, "would be a lot less uncomfortable if you weren't relaxed about it."

The worst thing about Wally's oldest sister living in the same city as us is that, when she kept asking if she could meet me, eventually, I ran out of excuses to say no. Which is how I ended up here, sitting at Starbucks with Wally, waiting for Melanie West to show up.

Wally laughs. "Really, Jinx, you don't need to worry," he says. It is maybe the tenth time he has told me that. "Melanie is going to adore you."

"Nobody adores me!" I counter. "I make a terrible first impression. My power is _Murphy's Law_! Something will go wrong. It always does."

"I adore you," Wally says. "And Murphy's Law is when there are multiple ways to do something and you pick the wrong one. 'Anything that can go wrong will go wrong' is Finagle's Law."

I roll my eyes. "You don't count. And see what I mean? I'm so unlucky I can't even remember how unlucky I am!"

He laughs again. "Jinx, I promise, my sister is going to love you. And if she doesn't, I will convince her to. She can't say no to me."

I point a finger at him. "You better be right about that."

He grins. "Oh, I am. Trust me."

I sigh, and fuss with the silver medical bracelet on my left wrist. Wally convinced me to get it because of my penicillin allergy. He said he was scared I could die. He said he didn't want to lose me.

It was all the convincing I needed.

I couldn't bear the thought of scaring him that much. Of hurting him. He means too much to me.

"I just don't want to screw this up," I admit. Wally reaches across the table and takes my hand in his.

"I'll still love even if you do," he says seriously. I roll my eyes.

"You are so cheesy sometimes," I grumble. He grins, and I add, "But thanks."

He squeezes my hand. "Anytime."

I reach for my mocha frappucino, only to find that I've drained it. "Ugh," I groan. "I need more chocolate. I'm getting another." I reach into my black shoulder bag, take out my wallet. It's empty.

"Crap…" I murmur.

"What's wrong?" Wally asks.

"Nothing," I reply. "I'm just out of cash, that's all." I start digging through my purse. "I know my debit card's in here somewhere…"

Wally's hand blurs, and a split second later he's holding out a ten dollar bill. "On me."

"You bought the last one," I say.

"So?" he replies, shrugging. "I don't mind buying things for you."

I want chocolate so bad it isn't even funny. Reluctantly, I take the bill from his hand. "I'll pay you back," I tell him.

"Don't worry about it," he says.

I don't respond. I'm not sure how to. I am worrying about it. I feel like I'm mooching or something. I don't know. I stand up and go to the counter.

This is so important to him. This meeting his family thing. And I understand that. I really do. But this is weird. This is so weird. I am meeting his sister… Well, before I meet my own.

The last three months, I have done everything I could think of to find Audrey Tudor, who may be… Scratch that, almost certainly is, my sister. The mental hospital she was at, the same one I used to live at, said she ran away about a month before Wally first contacted them about me. No one there's heard from her since.

My drink is slid onto the counter. I pick it up and, as I head back to the table, I see the door opening. A pretty woman with bright red hair steps inside. Wally sees her and waves.

"Melanie! Hey!" he calls out. I reach the table just seconds before his sister does. Wally jumps out of his chair and throws his arms around his sister, blurring as he moves.

"Hi, baby boy," Melanie says. She has a thick southern accent. I know they're from Georgia, but somehow I wasn't expecting that, I guess just because Wally doesn't have an accent at all.

"Please, don't call me that," Wally grumbles. His sister just laughs, a breezy, twinkling sound. She has his laugh. Or maybe he has hers.

Wally lets go of Melanie and grabs onto my hand. "Mel," he begins, beaming, "this is my girlfriend, Jinx. Jinx, this is my sister Melanie."

"Nice to meet you," I say, holding out my hand. Melanie ignores it and pulls me into a hug.

"It most certainly is!" She exclaims. "Wally's told me so much about you!"

She's hugging me. This is weird. Really weird.

"Yeah," I reply, "he's told me a lot about you too."

Wally looks at me and I think he can see how freaked out I am. "Mel, do you want to sit down and have something to eat or whatever?" he suggests. Melanie grins, lets go of me, and sits down at the table.

"Maybe in a minute. First tell me how you've been," she says to him. "I haven't seen you in a week!"

"Sorry about that," he says, laughing and sliding back into his chair. I sit down next to him and he takes hold of my hand again. "I've been meaning to stop by, but you know, there's always bad guys to stop. So, what's up with you? When's Bart get off school again?"

"Next week," Melanie answers. "I can barely believe my son is going to be in eighth grade."

"You're telling me," Wally replies. "Most guys my age don't have thirteen year old nephews."

Melanie laughs. "So, Jinx," she says, "Wally says you're an incredible artist."

I can feel myself blush. "I wouldn't say I'm incredible…" I murmur, fixing my gaze in the table. I just can't bring myself to look her in the eye.

Wally rubs the palm of my hand with his thumb. "Yeah, she is," he says, more to me than to his sister.

I try to smile, but I think it's more of a grimace. Melanie looks at me for a second, then says to Wally, "Baby boy, could you get me a latte? You know how I like them."

"Yeah, sure" Wally replies. He kisses me on the cheek before bolting out of his chair. "Back in a sec'."

As he dashes to the counter, Melanie turns to me. "Nervous?" she asks. I guess she was just trying to get me alone with that latte thing.

"Little bit," I admit. "Sorry."

She smiles. "It's alright, sweetheart. You should have seen me when I met my husband's parents. I was a wreck." I nod, and, once again, try really, really hard to smile.

"If it helps," she continues gently, "I'm really glad to finally meet you. Wally just adores you. And you've been really good for him. He's just so happy when he's with you."

"Thanks," I murmur, managing to smile, but weakly.

"You know," she continues, "he thinks of you as family. And so do the rest of us. Or at least, so do Bart and I."

Well.

I really don't know what to say to _that_.

The only family I have, that I know about, anyway, is this Audrey kid. And the truth is, and I know this is horrible of me, I almost hope we don't find her.

I don't know if I could face that.

And even if I could, well, do I need to?

I have Wally. He's the only family I need.

There's another blur of color, and a split-second later Wally is sitting at the table again. "Here you go," he says, sliding a latte in front of his sister.

"Thanks, Wally, you're an angel," Melanie says, smiling.

"No problem," he says. He looks a little embarrassed. It's cute. "So what were you ladies talking about?"

"Oh, not much," Melanie answers lightly. "Just girl talk." I guess that's code for "talking about you".

She winks at me. Theory confirmed.

* * *

"Okay, you win" I say, digging through my purse for my key to Titans North Tower. "Your sister doesn't hate me."

"Told you so," Wally replies.

"She seems really nice," I add, finding my key and sticking it into the door. "I think we'll probably get along."

Wally laughs. "That might be the most optimistic thing I've ever heard you say," he jokes.

"Clearly you're rubbing off on me," I retort.

He grins and leans close to my ear. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he whispers, his lips just barely brushing against my skin.

I feel myself blush. "Yeah, well…" I would try to think of a comeback for that, but his lips are sort of distracting me. "Fine," I grumble, opening the door. "You're right again."

"I'm on a roll today, aren't I?" he laughs, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Sure, let's go with that."

He laughs again, then his expression turns serious. "Thanks, by the way. For doing this for me."

I reach up and place one hand on his cheek. "Anytime," I tell him. He smiles, before pulling me closer and kissing me softly on the lips.

_I tell you what you mean to me_

_Maybe then you'll see_

'_Cause the only one I come undone for is you_

* * *

Author's Notes

So, finally, here is _Hope on a String_. To returning readers: Hey guys! It's awesome to see you again and I hope you like this story! To new readers: Hi, I'm Elle, nice to meet you! This is the direct sequel to my story _Breaking Free_, and I strongly recommend you read that story before this one.

In terms of continuity, this story picks up about three months after the end of _BF_/about four months after the end of season five, making it May 2005 by my math. I'm placing Jinx's birthday in March, (probably March 13, 'cause it's bad luck.), so she turned sixteen between the two stories. Wally was already sixteen. (His birthday, in my head, is New Year's Eve. I don't know why.) I just turned seventeen, so I'm older than him now. It's kind of freaking me out. (By the way, I'm obsessive about continuity, which is why I've worked these details out and why I have birthdays for, like, every character. Feel free to completely disagree with my math.)

There are two reasons this chapter took so long. Reason one is that my computer got a virus when I was about halfway through, and I had to get a new one, and it took a while to transfer my files. Reason two is that I wasn't sure what the best way to start this story would be. I'm just… Not very good at writing happy things. And this chapter had to be happy because Jinx is in such a happy place right now, so, yeah… Sorry this chapter is sort of a slow opening. I promise the plot will kick in soon.

Um, three years ago when I was starting _Breaking Free_, I messed up and thought Bart was Wally's nephew. Eventually, there was no way I could fix it without a full-out retcon, which I am fundamentally against, so I just ran with it. Wally needed a sibling for it to make sense, so I came up with Melanie, who is named that because Bart's mom is named Melanie in the comics. (For the record, Melanie's husband's last name is Allen, but he not related to Barry. Let's just call it a ridiculous coincidence.) I feel bad about messing with Wally's backstory so much. I'm sorry. I really am. I have no excuse, other than fact that when I started _BF_ I was thirteen and not a great writer. And creative license, I guess? Can I plead that?

Anyway, I'm really excited about this story. I'm really attached to Jinx and Wally. I love them so much, and I 'm happy that so many people were interested in this story because I'm happy to be able to keep writing them. Hope you guys enjoy this story!

The title _Hope on a String_ is a play on the lyrics of the song _Vindicated_ by Dashboard Confessional. The chapter title and lyrics are from _Come Undone_ by Vanessa Carlton.

And, uh, sorry for the long notes.

Review Responses for the last chapter of _Breaking Free_:

(I'm going to start sending these out individually, but I wanted to make sure I responded to all of these. I also promise to stop being lazy and start responding to one-shot reviews.)

Mizumaru Mari: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you liked the story and I'm glad you're planning to read the sequels! Your review was quite funny, by the way. It made me laugh.

InfiniteDragon: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you think my writing has improved!

WolfKeeper989: Thank you so much!

Angelfly06: Thank you so much! Jinx will look for Audrey in the sequel, by the way. I tried to explain that in chapter seventeen, but sorry if it wasn't clear!

CGBabydoll: Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the ending, I was pretty worried about it. And thanks for clarifying which stories you wanted to see.

Little Miss Juliet: Thank you so much! Yes, I do plan to keep writing!

Aphrodite96: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like my characterization of Jinx, and thanks for continuing to read my story even though you disagreed with my characterization of Argent.

Dreamwriterx3: Thank you so much! Lorena might become Aquagirl in her upcoming spin-off.

Soraskybeauty: Thank you so much! It means a lot to me that you said it's the best Flinx story you've seen.

ReimeiNoAkatsuki: Thank you so much! It means a lot to me that you think this is one of the best Flinx stories, and I'm quite flattered that you wrote your longest review ever for me. I'm happy that the fluff made you squeal as well.

Lemony anemone: Thank you so much! I'm sorry if my scarce updates made it hard for you to remember the plot.

Pinky Divertimento: Thank you so much! Sorry about the long times between updates and if the story was hard to follow because of it. About the ending, I just don't like to wrap everything up in a neat little bow, I guess. I don't think that's what life is like. And it leaves room for me to explore some of that stuff in the sequels?


	2. Run, Don't Walk

Run, Don't Walk

"Hey, Jinx, what's up?"

I glance up from my laptop just long enough to see Argent, Wonder Girl, and Rosie coming through the front door, carrying like five shopping bags each.

"Hey, guys," I reply. "Just doing some work. JLA wants our adversary profiles updated, and guess who Robin thought would be the best person for the job?"

"Well, darling, you do have quite a bit more inside information than anyone else on the Titans," Argent says, setting her bags down on the kitchen counter.

"Sorry we went shopping without you," Rosie says, climbing onto the chair next to me and leaning her elbows on the counter.

"That's all right," I say. I gesture towards Argent as I add, "Shopping with her scares me."

"Ha-ha, very funny," Argent says dryly. "And the only reason I didn't make you go was because you had better things to do." She says this with a self satisfied smirk, and Wonder Girl's mouth drops open.

"Ohmygosh, I almost forgot!" she exclaims. "How did it go with Melanie?"

"Good," I reply. "Like, freakily good. I think she might actually like me."

Wonder Girl grins "Of course she likes you. I mean, the way Wally has her wrapped around his finger, there's no way she wouldn't."

"So he says," I murmur, glancing at the screen on my computer. "Okay, what do you guys know about Punk Rocket?"

"Nothing."

"Ditto."

"Who?"

"Exactly," I groan. I close the file and shut off my computer. "I give up. I'll make Wally help me later."

"Sounds like Kid Flash isn't the only one with someone wrapped around their finger," Argent says with a smirk.

I narrow my eyes at her. "You're right. I forgot all about how domineering you are with Aqualad." Rosie dissolves into a fit of high-pitched giggles as Argent turns beet red. Mission accomplished.

"That's not true," she protests.

"Yes it is."

Argent pouts. "Maybe it's a little true." I raise an eyebrow, and she collapses into a chair, an exasperated expression on her face. "Okay, it's a lot true! But I can't help it! He's just so… "

"Polite?"

"Gentlemanly?"

"Boring?"

Argent rests her head against the counter and lets out a loud sob. "I'm only dating him because he's hot, aren't I?" she exclaims.

Wonder Girl slides into the chair next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Oh, honey, it's okay. I'm sure there are plenty of reasons why you like him other than him being hot…" She sighs. "He is hot, though."

"So, so hot," I agree. Rosie nods.

"Who's hot? " I hear. The hallway door slides closed as Wally runs into the room.

"Should I be jealous?" he adds, stopping to stand next to the counter and grinning at me flirtatiously.

"Aqualad," I answer. "And no. You shouldn't be."

"She also called him boring!" Rosie adds brightly.

"Thanks, Rosie. Way to make me look bad," I say sarcastically. She giggles.

"You could never look bad," Wally says, completely casual, which makes me blush. Great.

"So what do you lovely ladies want for dinner?" he continues, opening a drawer and sifting through a stack of tack-out menus. "Pizza? Chinese? Or we could go out. There's this place in London, it's all college students this time of year, and they hire live bands and go around with all kinds of…"

"No time," I grumble, opening my computer back up. "Work."

"So pizza? The usual?"

I shrug. "Whatever."

"Sounds good," Wonder Girl says. "We should tell Jericho…" She trails off and stares into space.

"He in his room?" Wally asks, picking the phone off the wall.

"I don't think so," she sighs. "I haven't seen him all day…"

"I don't think he's home," Argent says. Wonder Girl just shrugs.

I open up the files Robin wants me to update. There's got to be something in here that I can actually finish… Still don't know anything about Punk Rocket… HIVE Five… Yeah, don't want to deal with that right now… Kitten. Kitten I can write a file on.

Wally dials the phone in about half a second. "Hi, Pizza Planet? I'd like to place an order for delivery… One large extra cheese pizza, one medium pineapple, one small with everything on it, three orders of fries, an order of garlic bread and…" He takes the phone off his ear. "Argent, what do you want this time?"

"Medium Greek salad, extra feta, black olives, not green, no peppers."

Wally holds the phone against his ear again. "And one medium Greek salad, extra feta, black olives, not green, no peppers."

"And tell them not to overdress it this time! But not to under dress it either! They should use…"

"Dressing on the side. Yeah… Put it under West… Titans North Tower… Yes, that Titans North… No, this is not a prank call, it's really… Don't we order from you enough that you know it's really me by now? Oh, you're new? Sorry. I'm Kid Flash, and it's really nice to meet you… Great! Yup, see you in thirty minutes. Bye!"

I raise an eyebrow at him as he hangs up the phone. "Was that worker flirting with you?" I ask.

"Looks like you're the jealous one, huh?" he says, grinning mischievously. He leans across the counter and whispers in my ear, "Am I gonna have to do something to prove my loyalty?"

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm not jealous of some pizza girl, thanks."

He leans in closer. "Really? 'Cause if you were…"

"Wally!" Wonder Girl exclaims. "Not in front of Rosie!" Rosie looks annoyed, but doesn't say anything.

Wally laughs again, and runs around the counter to sit next to me. "Sorry, Donna." He glances at the computer. "Kitten's profile?"

"JLA's doing some database update thing," I explain.

"And Robin had better things to do?"

"Mm-hmm," I reply.

"Oh, that reminds me, have you… Talked to him today?" Wonder Girl asks Wally. "I mean, do you know how he's holding up?"

"Spoke to him on the phone," he says. "He's…

"Not good?" she asks.

Wally bites his lip. "Didn't sound it."

Neither of them say anything else, but their expressions are brutal. Batman's been threatening to get a new sidekick for a while now. About two months ago he finally did it, hired some street kid named Jason Todd. Robin, from what I can tell, is really, really mad, and Wally and Wonder Girl are pretty worried. The three of them have been friends for a long time. Wally always says Robin's like his brother.

I think it's sweet that he cares so much.

"Hey, speaking of Dick," Wally says suddenly, "do you have the fact that Kitten likes to hit on him in there?" He's trying to be funny, but I think he's really just trying to change the subject.

I roll my eyes. "Boyfriend stealing is not a federal offense, Wally."

He laughs. "No, but it is an important personal detail."

"True," I reply. I skim the biography in the file. Daughter of Killer Moth, rising senior at Jump City High… Attracted to Robin I. "It's in here. I'm definitely forgetting something though…"

"Maybe it's just a recent crime?" Wonder Girl suggests.

"Probably," I answer. "Robin sent me a whole bunch of police reports. I'll check." I open up a web browser and log into my email account. Fifteen unread messages. Seven of them are from Robin. On second thought, this could take a while.

I notice that Rosie has taken out a piece of paper and is starting to sketch on it. "What are you drawing?" I ask her. She shrugs.

"It's supposed to be our tower," she says. "But it's not very good."

"Sure it's good!" Wally says.

"You're just saying that," she sighs.

It's actually, pretty good, considering she's nine. "I think the problem is that you don't have a vanishing point," I tell her. I pick up her pencil and draw a point at the edge of the page. "See, when you draw 3-D objects from the front like this, you have to make sure everything disappears from view at the same spot. You just draw diagonal lines from the ends of the object to one point, then draw the shapes inside them, and when you're done, you just erase any extra lines." I demonstrate this on her drawing, lightly going over her lines so that they all lead back to the point.

"Things look like they get smaller as they get further away," I explain as I hand the paper back to her. She nods, and starts darkening the lines I drew and erasing her old ones.

Wally grins. "She wants to be just like you," he whispers to me.

Does she?

I'm not exactly a great role model. I wasted nine years of my life trying to destroy. To hurt people. I was good at it.

I don't know what kind of monster I would have turned into if Wally hadn't showed me that I could be better than that.

I still don't know what happened to Rosie, why she was on the streets and starting to commit crimes. But I do know what would have happened if we hadn't found her.

I know what would have happened to Rosie because I lived it. Rosie got lucky. She got out before it got worse. I didn't.

I guess that why I'm doing this. Looking for Audrey, I mean. I know how she could end up if I don't.

"Hey, why did Raven email you?" Argent asks. I realize that she has been reading the contents of my email from over my shoulder, and that she is smirking. "Are you two planning to go to Hot Topic and then listen to some depressing band?"

"No," I snap. "And at least I'm not the one who spends seven hundred bucks on one pair of shoes." Though now that she mentions it, my striped tights got all ripped, so I do kind of need to go to Hot Topic.

"They were Manolo Blahniks!" Argent protests. I just roll my eyes again. It is kind of weird that Raven emailed me, though. I mean, since I've joined the Titans, we've probably only spoken to each other twice.

There's also no subject line. Which is weird.

I open the email. "Jinx," it says. "This was in the LA Times this morning. Thought you might want to see it. –Raven."

"Huh," I say, louder than I meant to.

"What is it?" Wally asks, as he, Wonder Girl, Argent and Rosie crowd around me.

"Just… Just this email," I say. There's an attachment, which links me to an article online when I click on it. _**Local child cancer patient displays strange powers.**_

I… I don't get it. What is this?

I keep reading.

_San Diego- At Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California, a prepubescent leukemia patient lived on the streets prior to her admittance to the hospital and now demonstrates superhuman abilities._

_The patient, Audrey Tudor, 10, was brought to the hospital in April. "A social worker found her alone in the streets, and was in terrible physical condition," said her primary physician, Dr. Danielle Harrison, in a telephone interview. "She was brought here in need of emergency attention due to dehydration and famine. She was put through a basic medical evaluation, where we discovered cancerous cells, and we were eventually able to diagnose them as acute lymphoblastic leukemia." _

_Harrison believes the cancer developed six to eight months before Tudor's diagnosis, and notes that "Audrey says this is when her powers first showed up as well."_

_Tudor's abilities, according to Harrison, include "the power to negatively affect probability. Audrey can often will things into happening, and they're always bad things, like the hospital's technology breaking." Harrison also notes that Tudor's blonde hair has begun to grow in pink, and her skin has an "unusual grey tone."_

_Harrison also noted a resemblance between Tudor's powers and those of superheroine Jinx. "Maybe it's just me," she said, "but they seem uncannily similar."_

_Since Tudor's admission to Sharp Memorial, her parents have been located, and Harrison said they have begun to discuss a plan of treatment for Tudor's leukemia. _

_Harrison requested that Tudor not be interviewed or photographed at this time. "Too much attention may hinder her ability to get the rest she needs," she said. Tudor's family declined comment._

_"My peers and I hope to discover the source of Audrey's powers, as well as the reason she was living on the street," Harrison said. "However, at the time, our top priority is to do everything we can to fight her disease. We caught it late, but we hope she will be able to survive."_

I slam my laptop shut.

"Jinx…" Wally begins.

"I think I have a hard copy of Robin's email. I should go look in my room," I say. I bolt out the door and down the hallway. I don't stop until I get to my bedroom.

Cancer. She has _cancer_.

I lean against the wall and drop to the floor with a thud.

_Cancer_.

If she is my sister… I mean, of 'course she's my sister. She has my powers. She has my hair. My last name. She's…

Her parents abandoned her. And if she's my sister, then… That mean they're…

Why is this happening? I don't want this to be happening.

The door opens. "Does anyone in this house ever knock?" I snap.

"Not for you, I don't." It's Wally.

I press my hands against my forehead. "Sorry," I say. "I… I'm just…"

"Totally freaking out?"

"Exactly."

He sits down next to me. "Do you want to talk about it?" he asks.

"Not really," I say.

"Okay," he says. "Do you want me to just sit here?"

"Please."

He nods, slides his arm around me and pulls me close to him. I lean my head against his chest and he rests his on top of mine.

I don't want to meet her. I don't want any of this to be happening. But it is

. Her parents abandoned her.

Just like… I don't want to think about it. I can't think about it.

A couple of feet away from me, the carpet bursts into fluorescent pink flames. They glow for a few seconds before dying down. "Why that always happen to me?" I groan.

Wally laughs. "'Cause you're bad luck," he says, grinning.

"Yeah, but I manipulate probability," I say. "_That_ was not "probable"."

"Sure it was, stuff spontaneously combusts all the time."

I narrow my eyes at him. "No it doesn't."

"It does when you're around," he chuckles.

"Hilarious," I say sarcastically. He just laughs again, and starts twirling a strand of my hair around his finger.

"My powers are just kind of… _On_. All the time," I murmur. "When I was a kid I couldn't control them… Couldn't keep them _off_. Not until Blood taught me how."

"Bart has that problem," Wally says. "He basically never stops moving. It was really bad for a while. Barry was worried it would cause him to hyper-age."

"What happened?" I asked, even though I'm sure I know what the answer is.

"Barry trained him," Wally replies. I nod. That's what I thought.

What if _she_ can't control her powers?

"I have to go to that hospital, don't I?" I ask.

Wally moves his hand through my hair, letting it rest on the back of my neck. "Yeah."

I let out a long, heavy breathe. "I mean, what am I supposed to do?" I ask. "Just walk in there and say 'Hi, I'm a former supervillain, and, oh, by the way, I'm sorry you're seriously ill, but I think I might be your sister."

Wally smiles. "Well, you might not want to lead with the supervillain part," he jokes.

"Helpful, Wally. Really helpful," I snap. He laughs.

"You're cute when you're angry," he chuckles. I wonder how much I'm blushing. "And yes. I think that's pretty much what you should say. Just, you know, nicer."

I sigh. "I know," I say. "I know, I just…" I feel myself sink deeper into his chest. His hand trails down my back and he wraps it around my waist, strong and warm. Comforting.

"I just don't want to do this," I whisper.

"I'll come with you," he says. "If you want. It's my turn to meet your sister anyway."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"I'm doing this for her," I say. I just have to remember that.

Except I don't know her. So that doesn't do me much good.

* * *

"Thanks again for coming with me," I say. Wally and I decided to come to the hospital first thing today. I didn't sleep at all last night.

Wally takes my hand in his. "You're welcome."

My eyes are fixed on the door in front of me. One of those blank white hospital doors. I feel like I'm looking at a canvas, trying to get a painting out of it but I can't. Artist's block. I feel like I have artist's block.

"I should knock now, huh?" I say.

Wally grins. "You could just open it."

"You would know," I say dryly. He laughs, but I can't even bring myself to smile.

"Okay," I say under my breath. "Okay. I can do this." Wally squeezes the hand he's holding, and I bring the other one, in a fist, up to the door, and knock.

"Come in," I hear someone say.

So I turn the knob and open the door and take a step inside.

The girl sitting in the bed is tiny and frail. Her hair, a mess of dirty blonde ringlets, is streaked with bubblegum pink.

She looks at me, and her eyes go wide with shock, then narrow with… Disgust, maybe. I notice that her eyes are pink from all the way across the room.

"Who the hell are you?" she snaps.

"Um," is the only word that comes out of my mouth.

A door in the back of the room opens, and a woman steps inside. She must be in her early twenties, too young to be a doctor. I guess she's an intern or a nurse or something.

"Audrey, I…" she begins. She stops, seeing me out of the corner of her eye, I think, and turns her head to look at me. Her jaw drops.

"Olivia?"

_Run, don't walk  
The sky is falling through  
Don't talk tonight  
I'm so confused  
I'm lost, I'm lost with you._

* * *

Author's Notes

Okay, I have a problem. I have discovered that I hate fake locations. Way back three years ago when I made up Wing City (to fit the, uh, theme naming with Jump City and Steel City), I didn't know how much I hate fake locations. But I hate them. I can't use any cultural anything, and I tend to use setting pretty prominently when I write, so it holds me back. So I'm retconning this. Even though I'm against retcons, I'm just gonna do it.

So, um, there is no Wing City. Wing City does not exist. Wing City is now Chicago. (I always though of Wing City as being to Chicago as Jump City is to San Francisco anyway, so it's not totally random.) I'll go back through this story and _Breaking Free_ and change every use of the words "Wing City" to Chicago. And from now I'm not making up any more places. Like, I'll use the canon ones (Jump, Steel, Gotham, Metropolis, Star, whatever else is in the DCU), but everything else will be in a real place?

I'm really, really, really, really sorry. But it was going to drive me crazy.

Anyway, I wasn't sure where to end this chapter. I originally ended it after Jinx and Wally's conversation. Then I took the conversation out, moved some things around and ended it after the article. Then I put the conversation back in and added the hospital scene. I'm still not sure if the last two scenes would have been better in a separate chapter. They feel sort of separate from the first part of the chapter. But it would be a really short chapter, so… I don't know.

The first part of the chapter is meant to establish the team dynamic and the status quo. I really like these five (well, six counting Rosie) as a team. Especially because Wally's just "one of the girls". I love Donna and Argent so so much in this chapter, but really, I love Donna and Argent all the time. Donna's a neurotic crazy person, and she's just so cute when she's acts like everbody's mom. And Argent's a riot to write. After I wrote the joke about Manolos, I was told that Manolo Blahnik lovers and Jimmy Choo lovers are rivals. So I guess Argent can never wear Jimmy Choos now?

So about Audrey. She has cancer. (I didn't realize until really recently how much that actually kind of makes sense, since Jinx was a cancer survivor in the comics. I just didn't make that connection.) That article was probably not the nicest way for Jinx to find out about something like that. I think she's being really brave by going even though she doesn't want to. She's trying to do the right thing for someone else's sake, which she isn't always good at. But she's trying. And I think Wally's being kind of awesome here, because he thinks family is important and he thinks it's important that she goes, but he doesn't want to push her.

Lastly, um, yes, Batman hired Jason Todd. I have a subplot planned that sort of involves this, but really, it just had to happen at some point, and since I've established Tim to be thirteen, it had to happen sooner rather than later. Since Jason has to die so Tim can take over before he gets too old and Dick and Bruce can angst.

That sounded morbid.

Title and lyrics from _Run, Don't Walk_ by Hey Monday.

Thanks to my brother for editing.


	3. In Too Deep

In Too Deep

Huh.

Well that's…

How the hell does she know my name?

"Olivia, I…" the woman says, beginning to smile. "Is that really you?'

Maybe. Probably. But I don't want to commit to that.

"I'm sorry," I say. I smile, as politely as I can. "Do I know you?" From behind me, Wally latches onto my hand and laces his fingers through mine.

The woman's face falls. "I'm…" She presses a hand to her mouth. "You…"

"Hannah, what the fuck is going on?" Audrey demands. The woman, Hannah, I guess, looks at her, a pathetic attempt at a glare.

"Language, Audrey?" she murmurs meekly. Audrey narrows her eyes and they glow, a brilliant shade of pink.

"Fine," Audrey snaps. "Who the _heck_ is she and what the _freak_ is going on? Happy?"

Hannah stares at her, silent, than looks at me again. "You really don't remember?"

I shake my head. "I'm…" Sorry, but the word doesn't come out. I'm not _sorry_. I don't even know her. And she doesn't know me.

"Hannah, who is she?" Audrey asks again. "Hannah?" Hannah doesn't answer, just stares at me with tears in her eyes, and I try to answer, but I can't introduce myself as "Jinx" when, apparently, "Olivia" is not just the scared little girl I have imagined her to be these last few months, the toddler who I could never save, but very real, very sixteen and very standing right where I am.

It's Wally who finally answers. "We're from the Teen Titans North," he says, calmly, politely, just doing his job. "My name is Kid Flash and this is Jinx. We saw the newspaper article about Audrey and were hoping to talk to her."

"_You're_ Jinx?" Audrey asks, or accuses, maybe. "_You're_ the one they keep comparing me to?" She eyes me, up and down, and I notice the acrylic paint smeared across the knee of my jeans, blood-red and much too bright against the black denim.

"You don't look like a superhero," she declares. And maybe I don't.

Wally laughs, trying to make her more comfortable. Or me. Not sure. "Well, we can't be in costume all the time," he says.

Audrey raises an eyebrow at him, then looks back at Hannah. "How do _you_ know _her_?" Audrey insists. Hannah opens her mouth, slowly.

"I…" she begins. She bursts into tears. "You… Really… Don't… Remember?"

Oh my God, stop asking me that. "No," I say. "I don't. I'm…" I bite my lip. I'm what? "Sorry. Do I know you?"

"I…" Hannah begins. "You are Olivia Tudor, right?"

"Yeah," I say. Well, technically. "And you are?"

"Hannah Tudor," she answers, and it is the first thing she has said that doesn't sound like a question. "Your sister."

What?

"What?" Audrey exclaims. Clearly, she didn't know about me anymore than I knew about her. "Hannah, what the hell is going on?"

"Olivia is our sister," Hannah answers, her eyes still fixed on me. "Before you were born she…"

Was abandoned by her parents, your parents, my parents, _our_ parents, and, apparently, you too?

She doesn't say it.

What a bitch.

"You're a supervillain," Audrey tells me.

"Was," I say.

She looks at me, for what feels like much, much too long.

"Get out of my room."

Hannah stares at her. "Audrey…"

"I said get out!" Audrey shrieks. "I don't want anything to do with you! Get out, get fucking out!"

I turn around and walk out the door, letting it slam shut behind me.

I slam my fist against the hallway wall. Damn it. How could I be so stupid? Why the fuck did I think this was a good idea? Damn it, damn it, damn it!

A lightbulb flickers pink and burns out and I hear glass breaking somewhere in the distance.

Damn it.

Wally is by my side in a matter of seconds. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls into a hug.

"You okay?" he asks.

"Awesome, thanks," I snap. He laughs.

"Got it, stupid question."

"You want to hear about stupid?" I ask. "How about the fact that I thought this was a good idea? God, I'm such a fucking idiot!"

"No, you're not," he says, stroking the back of my neck with his thumb. He pulls me closer and his body is warm against mine. I lean my head against his chest and I can feel his breaths, a bit faster than mine.

"You were just trying to do the right thing. You didn't know she would react like this."

"I know," I sigh. "But just 'cause it's the right thing doesn't make it any less stupid."

"Sure it does," he murmurs, pressing his lips against the top of my head. "Do you want to go to the MoMA?" he asks.

"Hell yes," I answer. He laughs, and holds me close as he runs out of the building.

* * *

"Do you wanna go look at the…"

"Oh my God, Wall-Wall!"

Wall-Wall?

Wally looks in the direction of the shout. "Tay-Tay!" There's a blur as he rushes to hug a red-headed girl by the entrance to the room. "What are you doing here?"

"Uh, New York, I live here, duh," she says, as I start to walk over to them. "What are you…" She doesn't finish her question after she sees me.

"Oh my God!" she exclaims again. She turns to Wally. "Is that her?"

Wally grins. "Uh-huh."

The girl squeals and grabs my hand. "Oh my God, Mel said you were adorable!"

I narrow my eyes at Wally and he bursts out laughing. "Jinx, this is my sister Taylor."

"I figured." I grumble.

"I am, like, so excited to meet you!" Taylor exclaims, hugging me. Why are his sisters so touchy-feely when mine hate me? That is so not fair.

"You too," I say, hugging her back even though it makes me feel weird. Damn, I suck at meeting new people.

"So, Tay, how'd finals go?" Wally asks as Taylor lets go of me.

"Yeah, uh, you know that Mandarin class you talked me into taking?" she asks,

"Yeah."

Taylor makes a face at him. Wally makes the same one sometimes. Her features don't resemble his the way Melanie's do, but her mannerisms are similar. "Let's just say that if I ever go to China, you're coming with me."

"That bad?"

"They don't even use an alphabet!" she groans. "And how am I supposed to remember which character has a squiggle here and which one looks exactly the same except it's there and…" She attempts to draw the characters in the air, then gives up. "Math is more logical. It only has one alphabet."

He laughs. "I'll never understand that about you, Taylor. Math is so…"

They talk, joking with each other about her classes and college life and their family. They've known each other their entire lives. They're not just family; they're friends too. I wonder what that feels like.

I know his family life isn't perfect. I know it's sucked for him and hurt him and screwed him up.

But damn.

Damn does it make me feel like crap about mine.

"But enough about me!" Taylor exclaims. "I wanna hear about you two!"

Wally wraps his arm around me. "Well, you know," he says smoothly, "I'd say things are pretty perfect."  
I roll my eyes. "Wally, do you have to be so suggestive? We're in public."

He laughs. "I just can't help myself."

Taylor squeals, giddy like a little kid. "I'm so proud of you, Wally!" she says. "You save the world every day, and you have a girlfriend! My baby brother's all grown up."

"We don't save the world _every_ day," Wally chuckles.

"Oh, that reminds me," I say to him. "The police sent over some reports that they think might tie into that murder case."

"Oh, I heard about that!" Taylor says. "How's it going?'

"Weird," I answer. "All we've got is a couple of unidentified bodies."

"We're not even sure it's a supervillian related crime yet," Wally adds. "Police want us on it just in case."

"That's 'cause it's so messed up," I explain. "The stuff in the national news is only part of it. The crime-scenes look like something out of _Saw_."

Taylor winces. "That's sounds…" A poppy ringtone starts before she can finish. "Oh, that's my cell!" She picks it up. "Hello? Lizzie! Omigod, you'll never guess who I'm with right now."

"Tay, put it on speaker!" Wally says. She does. "Hi, Lizzie," he says.

There's a squeal on the other end."Wally! How are you, sweetheart!" The voice, coming from Wally's sister Elizabeth, is gentle and slightly accented.

"Good, how are you?"

"I'm…" she laughs nervously. "Well that's why I'm calling. I've got news."  
"Yeah?" Taylor asks.

"I'm…" there's another nervous giggle from her end. "I'm getting married."

Taylor screams.

"Quiet, you guys, I don't want to get to kicked out of the MoMA," I groan. Wally chuckles and wraps an arm around me.

"Sorry, we'll quiet down."

"Is that the girlfriend?" Lizzie asks.

"That's her!" Taylor answer.

"Ooh, how sweet!"

"I know, right?"

I roll my eyes and Wally laughs. "Anyway," he says, "back to you. When did this happen."

"This mornin'," she answers.

"Did you propose or him? Did you set a date? I'm your maid of honor right?" Taylor asks, rapid-fire. I thought Wally was the one with super speed.

"Him, not yet, and yes."

"Ohmigod, you're so old-fashioned, Lizzie," Taylor scoffs. "Oh, but, thank you, yay!"

"Wait, is this that guy I still haven't met?" Wally asks. "What's his name, again?"

"Keith, and you only haven't met him because you never visit me!"

"Lizzie, you live in Georgia. I don't go there of my own free will."

I feel sort of uncomfortable listening to this. It's family stuff, and I'm, well, I'm not part of that. No matter what anyone says.

I wonder if Hannah has a boyfriend.

I know more about his family then I do about…

Mine.

* * *

I sigh and stare out the windows in the main room of the tower. I've been at these files all afternoon. Just one left.

Me.

Robin said it doesn't mean anything. It's just a JLA rule. Anyone who's ever been involved in a super-related crime- villain, hero, or neither- gets a file on the supervillian database. There's one on Catwoman, Guy Gardner, Hal Jordan. There's one on him.

It's protocol. That's all.

That's all.

I adjust my computer on my lap and open up the file.

_JINX_

_BIRTH NAME: Unknown._ Well that's not right. Means I have to change the whole format, actually. I type in the name-my name.

_TUDOR, Olivia Anne._

_ CODENAME: Jinx._

The place of birth is just listed as California, so I add San Diego. The birthdate's empty, so I add that too- March 13, 1989. The physical stats are accurate- eye color, hair color, skin color. Approximete height and weight… 5'2'' and… Gee I don't even know what I weigh. I just take a guess and type it in. Ethnicity…

_ETHNICITY: Unknown._

Ethnicity…

I mean, 'Tudor' sounds… English, I guess?

I don't even know what ethnicity I am.

What do I know about myself?

I skip ahead to the list of crimes. Well, the ones that I caught for. I can spot six, maybe seven things missing, and that's off the top of my head. And if I add in the ones I _didn't_ get caught for, there's probably over a hundred crimes missing. Mostly theft, but a little vandalism and breaking and entering too. And somehow they missed the time I started that electrical storm to cover up for that building I burned, which is either flattering or kind of concerning.

Well, I guess I do know a lot about myself.

Just, I only know about all the shit I did.

When I finish filling the crimes in, I go back to the statistics. Training at the HIVE, powers are probability manipulations, everything's accurate.

_CURRENT ALIGNMENT: Good._

Well is it really that simple?

The phone rings.

I don't feel like standing up. I let it go to the answering machine

"Olivia? It's… It's Hannah. I, um, I got your number from the operator, I hope it's the right one, uh…"

I sigh and go to pick up the phone.

"Hannah, it's me."

"Olivia?"

Well.

"Yeah."

"Oh, good," she says. "Look, I just… I wanted to apologize. For this morning, I… Audrey's having a rough time right now."

"I understand. You don't need to…"

"Yes I do. I just… I can't believe we… You found us."

"Yeah," I say. I'm a public figure. A freaking public figure. With pink hair. I can't believe they never figured it out.

"I just…" she continues. "I was hoping we could talk? Maybe meet for coffee tomorrow? I just… I'd like to get to know you, Olivia."

"My name is Jinx…"

Olivia's just… Some name on a file. On a birth certificate. Some kid who never really got to live.

I wonder who she was.

"I'd like to meet up," I say.

I mean, how am I supposed to turn her down?

_I can't sit back and wonder why.  
It took so long for this to die.  
And I hate it when you fake it.  
You can't hide it you might as well embrace it.  
So believe me it's not easy.  
It seems that something's telling me,_

_I'm in too deep, and I'm trying to keep,_  
_Up above in my head, instead of going under._

* * *

Hey, guys. I am so so so so so so so sorry about the long delay! Long story short, I came down with really severe anemia around September, and I'm still recovering. I've been exhausted all the time and focusing has been hard, and while I'm getting better, I'm still not perfect. I couldn't even focus on my school work for most of this year, so my stories just had to take a back seat. I'm really really sorry, and I hope to be able to update more frequently soon. Thank you guys so much for your support, and I hope you're not too mad at me!

Uhm, anyway, this chapter. I don't know. I was stuck. I like the first part and I kind of like the end! but not much else. I promise the plot will start picking up soon! And just because I want to be the first to say it: Audrey's a _bitch_. I said it, y'all can too. (No idea why I said 'y'all'. I'm from the North. XD)

Title and lyrics from "In Too Deep" by Sum 41.

Thanks to my brother for editing!


	4. The Leaving Song

The Leaving Song

"So…"

I tap my straw against the edge of my plastic coffee cup. "So…" I repeat.

Hannah smiles politely. "So that boy yesterday, Wally, is he your boyfriend?"

What, like it wasn't all over the news? I know she doesn't have to ask. I hate that she's being so goddamn _polite_ about things. I have to force myself not to roll my eyes. "Yeah."

Hannah and I are sitting at a café a block or so from Audrey's hospital. Wally dropped me off here so we could talk. Or try to.

"I remember reading about it," she says. "You guys got together through work, right?"

Well that's one way to put it. "Yeah. In, uh, February."

"That's so sweet!" she sighs. "Wish I'd had someone at sixteen."

I try to smile. "Thanks," I reply. "So, are you, you know, seeing anyone?"

She shakes her head. "Not right now," she replies. "I was, but, we sort of drifted apart after… " She doesn't finish.

Ah, Audrey. The elephant in the room. Or one of them. The little pink-haired one next to the big pink-haired one.

"I'm… sorry to hear that. So, um… How old did you say you were?" I ask.

"I'm twenty-two," she answers.

"And, um, what do you do for a living?" I must sound so disinterested. I really do suck at this politeness stuff.

"I'll be starting law school at Harvard this fall," she says. "I'm hoping to go into prosecution." I'm surprised, for some reason. She's so… Meek. Doesn't seem like someone who could stand her ground in front of a whole courtroom.

But I guess I really don't know anything about her, so who am I to say that?

"That's really cool," I tell her, honestly.

"Thanks," she says. "I love your outfit, by the way. Would you say, you're like … Goth?"

"Yeah," I say. It's funny. I've considered myself goth for, like, ever, but I sometimes get pissed when other people say it. But… I don't think she's trying to label me, just… Understand.

Her smile fades as she brushes a lock of her dusty brown hair behind her ear.

"So, um, I guess we should talk about a few things?" she says nervously. "Serious things, I mean."

I can feel my muscles tense. I cross my arms across my chest. "Yeah. We should."

"So, um, you read about Audey in the paper?" she asks.

"Raven did." I answer briskly. "The story only ran in California. She sent it to me."

"Oh. I, um…"

"Why did you leave her at St. Claire's?" I interrupt.

Hannah's eyes go wide. "What?"

"St. Claire's Home for Troubled Young Girls. Why was she there and why was she on the street?"

"Oh my God." Hannah buries her face in her hands. "Oh my God. This can't be happening again."

Fuck, I made her _cry_. I should really try to be nicer. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… What can't be happening?"

She swallows hard and looks up at me, tears streaked down her face. "They told me she ran away."

"Who told you?"

"Mom and Dad."

I'm not surprised. Maybe I should be, but I'm not. After all, they've done this before. "Have they been to see her while she's been in the hospital?"

She nods. "They didn't act like anything was wrong. They seemed so…" she chokes through her tears. "So happy to see her."

"How'd _she_ feel?" I ask.

Hannah sobs loudly. "You saw her. She's like that to everyone, but I just… I thought it was just hormones… I thought that… She's a preteen, you know? I didn't…"

She covers her eyes again, trying to shield her emotions. "I can't believe they're doing this again…"

But they are.

**

* * *

**

"Hey, baby," Wally says as he breezes up to the front of the café. He kisses me on the cheek, then says, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah," I reply. I turn to Hannah. "Nice seeing you," I tell her. I don't know if I mean it.

But, I guess, at least I don't know it's a lie.

"You too," she says sweetly. "Sorry for my little… Emotional outburst."

"It's alright," I say. She opens the door to her car.

"So, we'll do this again right?" she asks. "Maybe I can even talk Audrey into being nice to you."

"Yeah, definitely," I say. She smiles and waves before she drives off.

Wally grins. "And you were worried."

I sigh. "With good reason."

His face turns serious. "What happened?"

"Apparently the parents told Hannah that Audrey ran away," I explain. "When in fact they dumped her at a mental hospital. Hannah had no idea she was ever there."

He presses his lips together and shakes his head. "That's awful," he says.

"Tell me about it," I groan. I lean against the pale stone wall behind me, arms crossed. "Other than that it was okay. She's nice."

Wally smiles. "I'm glad to hear that."

I sigh again. "Let's go home," I say.

"'Course," he replies. He takes my hand and then rushes us away.

* * *

When we arrive at the tower, Argent is sitting at the table going over a file with a man in a police uniform. Sean O'Malley; he's one of the younger officers on the Chicago police force, and, unlike his boss, he doesn't treat us like jokes.

"Hey, man," Wally says, flopping down into a seat at the counter. I sit down next to him. "What's going on?"

"Got some updates on that case. Boss wanted me to run them by you guys," Sean answers.

I snicker. "Still doesn't think a couple of 'hormone-driven vigilantes' are worth his precious time?" Sean just raises his eyebrows.

Wally laughs. "So what's the update?"

Sean slides a photograph across the counter. "Murder number four."

Wally takes one look at it and goes pale. "Jesus Christ."

"That's what I said," Argent comments, monotone."And I'm not even religious."

The photograph is of a little girl, or at least what used to be a little girl. Her head's chopped off, both of the eyes carved out and the rest of her face covered in knife marks. She's covered in dirt, cuts and blood, with one leg completely gone and one arm hanging from her shoulder by just a few strands of skin. The bones of her leg, arm, and neck jut out, eerily white.

I am not as disturbed by it as they are, but then again, I never am.

"How old was she?" I ask.

Sean shakes his head. "Haven't ID'd her yet."

"Murderer took the eyes again," I observe. "What does one do with the eyes of four little girls?"

"It's sick," Wally says.

"Most supervillains are," I reply. I can see him glance at me out of the corner of my eye, but I don't look back at him.

"Where'd it happen?" Wally asks.

"Bridgeport," Sean answer. "Couple miles from the last one."

"Whoever this is working their way somewhere," I say. I hand him back the photograph. "Keep us posted."

"Will do," Sean says, standing up and heading for the door. "Have a nice day, guys. Good to see you, Toni."

"You too, Sean," Argent says. I raise an eyebrow at her.

"Toni?" I ask, as soon as the door closes. "You two are on first name basis now?"

"So?" she retorts.

"So _I_ don't even call you Toni."

She rolls her eyes. "Well, why don't you start? We could use a little team building around here anyway. When was the last time you spoke to Jericho?"

"Um, how is this relevant?"

"Exactly."

I roll my eyes back at her. "The point is, you have a boyfriend," I tell her. "Does Aqualad call you Toni?"

She shifts in her chair. "No."

"See?" I say. "Emotional cheating."

Argent opens her mouth and lets out a high-pitched scoff. "It is not!" She glances at Wally. "Is it?"

Wally tilts his head from side to side. "Borderline."

Argent sighs. "I can't help it!" she moans. "We hardly ever see each other and, when we do, all he talks about is fish!" She lets out something kind of like a sob and then leans her head on my shoulder. "I'm a terrible girlfriend! A gorgeous but terrible girlfriend!"

"No you're not," Wally says, moving to stand beside her and patting her on the back. "You're just… Kind of… Fickle?"

"Argent," I begin. She cuts me off with a sharp cry.

"Doesn't anyone listen to me! I told you to call me Toni! I think it would be a good team-building effort for us to all be on first name basis!"

"Okay," I start again, "Toni then. Toni, it's not a _problem_ if you don't want to be with him, but…" I pause. How do I say this without upsetting her even more, "You should probably tell him that."

"You're leading him on," Wally agrees.

She makes an incomprehensible noise and then shuffles off to her room. Wally dissolves with laughter.

"That girl is insane," he laughs.

"Don't I know it." I let out a breath and lie across the chairs, my head on his lap. "This day could not possibly get any weirder," I grumble. "First Hannah, then the case, and now this? I'm about ready to scream."

"Mm-hmm." He trails his fingers up and down my arm. "So what do you think of the case?"

"I think I've had enough thinking for one day, is what I think."

That makes him laugh again. "Oh yeah?" he asks. He leans down so his face is barely an inch from mine. "Well, what do you want to do then?"

I smirk. "I think you know." I wrap a hand behind his head and pull him towards me, crashing his lips against mine and sliding them open with my tongue.

"Mmm," he moans. "I think I do." He doesn't waste a moment after that. He scoops me into his arms and carries me to the couch, laying me down before settling himself on top of me and kissing me again. All in less than two seconds.

He draws my lower lip into his mouth, grazing it gently with his teeth before releasing it and moving to kiss my neck. I whisk his shirt over his head and run my hands across his bare skin. His chest is warm, lean and just a little sweaty from all the running he does. I wonder, for a split second, how the white of my arms looks against the gold tint of his skin. I kind of stop caring when he brings his lips back to mine. I slide my tongue into his mouth and move it against his, scraping my fingernails lightly across his back. He reaches back to pull out the elastic band holding my ponytail, causing my hair to cascade around my shoulders as he runs his fingers through it,

The door swings open. "Guys."

"Donna, go away," Wally grumbles, chucking a throw pillow in her direction.

"Guys, it's important," she says.

"We're kind of busy!" I snap.

"Guys, I'm serious, it can't…" she takes one glance in our direction and her jaw drops.

"Are you shirtless?"

"…Maybe."

"Wallace Rudolph West, what have I told you about overtly sexual contact when…"

"Donna, we're not having sex!" I shriek.

"…when Rosie could waltz in here at any moment and…"

"Okay, okay, I'll put my shirt on!" Wally exclaims, sitting up and tugging his shirt over his head. "_Mom_."

I smooth out my hair with my fingers and pull it back into a ponytail. "What's the problem?" I ask.

Donna grabs the remote and turns on the news. A crime scene.

"Murder number four," I say. "What about it."

She shakes her head. "Look closer."  
I do. It's not murder number four, just a similar one. The first girl was blond, this one's hair is flame red. The missing leg is on the other side. The surroundings are completely different too. I check the location at the edge of the screen.

Jump City.

"I think the murderer has a partner," Donna says.

"That, or we've got ourselves a copy-cat murderer," I suggest.

"This just keeps getting more and more twisted," Donna murmurs.

Wally shakes his head suddenly. "I don't think this guy's the copycat. I think our guy is." He pauses the image and points to something on the girl's back. "Look."

An S.

Donna gasps. "You don't think…"

"Dunno," he says, "but I think we just proved this is a supers case."

"Would explain the eyes," I add. "I'll call Robin. Tell him we have a code black-and-orange."

_You... walked away, heard them say  
"Poisoned hearts will never change, walk away again"_

___All the cracks, they lead right to me  
And all the cracks will crawl right through me_

**

* * *

**

Author's Notes:

Hey, guys. As usual, I'm so sorry for the delay. I've mostly recovered from my illness and hopefully will be able to get back on track. I'm really sorry for the delays and I hope you guys can be patient with me and forgive me.

So guess what: There's a plot! Told you there would be. XD I'm really bad at writing action so I like to play the superhero stuff as detective-and-police-type stories or (in the case of _Trainspotting_) espionage. So this is the start of this story's murder mystery plot, which, thematically, has ties to other stuff that's going on. Um, other than that, not much happens here. This chapter is kind of short and filler-y. XD The next chapter should be a bit more interesting and longer. XD (Um, and in case any of you are really against having too many OCs in a story, I promise Sean does absolutely nothing other than play an Officer Gordon kind of role- I just needed them to have a police contact. And I thought it was funny for him and Argent to be flirty because, for some reason, Argent's insane lovelife is highly amusimg to me. XD)

I struggled to name this chapter. When I though of "The Leaving Song", I wasn't sure if it worked because, while the lyrics fit, the chapter contains no literal leaving: thematically, it's about cycles, particularly the cycle of abuse. But I decided it worked because there is metaphoric "leaving" in the abuse and abandonment Jinx and Audrey have been victims to, which is mentioned significantly in the chapter.

By the way, about the murder scenes: I'm worried I was too graphic. I have a pretty high tolerance for "gore" and that kind of stuff, but if it ever gets to be too much for you guys or you're uncomfortable with it, please let me know so I can tone it down.

Title and lyrics from "The Leaving Song" by AFI. Thanks to my brother for editing.


	5. Black Cat

Black Cat

"There," Robin says, turning his laptop screen around so it faces me. "That's everyone Slade's known to have worked with."

I scan the list. "None of these people are out of Chicago," I say.

Wally peers at the screen over my shoulder. "Anyone you know?"

Well, "Tudor, Olivia" is right next to "Grayson, Richard". But that's not the question.

"A couple people from the HIVE," I answer. "But none of them are exactly serial killer material…" I read over the names again. "Who'd he hire from the Sirens?"

"The who?" Toni asks.

"The Santa Fe Sirens," I explain. "They're like an agency- if you want to hire one of their girls, teenagers mostly, you do it through them. A lot of big name villains use them for henchmen and stuff. They're based out of Santa Fe but they'll send people anywhere"

"Oh, I know them," Donna says. "Poison Ivy just used them. It was all over the news."

"Yeah, that's them," I reply. I click the link. "Mercury Lace and Morning Glory."

"Know them?" Wally asks,

"Morning Glory was a year behind me at the HIVE. Aurora Moscowitz, light manipulation. Sweet girl," I answer. "Couldn't be her, though. She switched to their sister agency, Miami Mermaids, last I heard from her." I click her name. "Yup, still with them."

"So?" Toni asks,

"So they don't work with Slade since Chloe Allesleigh." Everyone in the room looks at me blankly. "You guys don't know about Chloe Allesleigh? Andromeda?"

"Is she from the HIVE?" Donna asks.

I shake my head. "She was just some girl who got mixed up with the Mermaids, I don't know how," I answer. "Slade hired her through them in…'03, I think. He said it was a routine theft, but it turned out he was planning to use her as bait so he could steal from another villain. She died. Like, brutally. There wasn't even a body to bury. I can't believe you guys never heard about this. It was all over the villain community. HIVE had a vigil and everything."

"Villains' deaths aren't really publicized unless they're really high-profile," Robin says calmly. "And even then, they're not exactly treated like tragedies."

No, I guess they wouldn't be. "Well, since then a lot of people won't work with Slade," I say. "He got kicked out of guild and everything." I am met with blank faces again.

"IGEV? International Guild of Ethical Villainy?" No response. "Come on, guys!" I exclaim. "How do you not know this?"'

"Because it's a villain thing?" Toni suggests, shrugging. "No offense, but, most superheroes just sort of assume villains don't have ethics."

"Well we do," I snap. "I mean, they do. And killing one of your own is a big no."

"I'm pretty sure no one's ever heard of this guild," Robin says. "It's probably just pretty well kept from heroes. Wouldn't want us invading their meetings. I'll talk to the JLA, see if they want us to file it or something."

"Yeah," I sigh. I'm not sure why this is bugging me. Wally puts a hand on my shoulder, like he can sense that I'm tense. I smile a bit. He always gets me.

"Anyway, I've never heard of this Mercury Lace chick," I say. "Looks like she did a job for him a couple years ago… Think you could run a background check?"

"I'm on it," Robin replies.

Rosie pokes her head through the door. "Guys, Lorena's here."

"Thanks, sweetie," Donna says. "We should be done soon, okay?"

''Kay!" Rosie chirps. The door slides shut and I hear her run down the hallway and yell, "Lorena, do you wanna see the dress I was telling you about?"

"We're talking them to see _The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants_," Donna explains. "You know, for girl's night."

"Cute. Star wants to see that too." Robin replies. Then, "How's she doing?"

"Pretty good, considering girls her age are being brutally murdered all over Chicago," I reply. "She's brave, but…"

"But she's still just a kid?"

"Yeah," I sigh. I look at the five photographs spread across the coffee table. Five little girls, cut apart and missing their eyes. "I just don't know what we're dealing with."

"Maybe it's him," Robin says. "Maybe he's working on his own. He's certainly messed up enough to do this without help." He doesn't have to say who "he" is.

Wally and Donna exchange concerned glances. "Dick, are you…"

"I'm fine," he insists.

There is an uncomfortable silence as I go over the list on the computer screen again.

Toni's the first to say something. "What I don't get is, why here? Slade's always been based out of Jump, as far as I know."

"Maybe he's looking for something?" Wally suggests.

"And killing little girls to find it?" Donna asks, clearly shaken.

"Nothing gets you on the news like killing a pretty girl," I state.

"You think whoever's doing this wants publicity?" Robin asks.

"It's a possibility. Plenty of attention-whores in the villain biz."

"Maybe he doesn't want _everyone's_ attention," Wally suggests. "Maybe he just wants _Slade_ to notice him, so he's killing people for it. You know, like an Oedipal Complex."

I snort. "Somebody wants to _fuck_ Slade?"

Wally can't help but laugh. "Okay, that came out wrong."

"Oh, I think it came out just right."

"Okay, you're _sick_."

"And you love it."

"Guys," Robin snaps, "can you save the flirting for later?"

"Oedipus Slade…" Wally giggles. Robin glares at him. "Sorry."

"Anyway, I gotta go," Robin says, packing up his stuff. "I'll call you guys if I think of anything. Where's Jericho, by the way?"

"He doesn't really talk to us," Toni says. She winces, then adds, "You know what I mean."

Robin nods. "Raven was like that too at first. He'll come around."

Wally stands up. "Need me to run you home?"

"Yeah, thanks. Nice to see you guys."

"You too," I say.

"See you, Dick!" Donna says, waving.

"Say hi to the others for us," Toni adds.

"You know, we really don't hang out enough. Feel like it's been…" Wally stops mid-sentence and gives Robin the once-over. "Are you taller than me?"

Robin grins proudly. "Finally hit my growth spurt. Woke up one morning and I had to buy myself a whole new wardrobe."

"How tall?"

"Five-ten."

Wally's jaw drops. "You grew ten inches?" he exclaims. "_Ten inches_? God, I'm so _short_."

"You're five-nine," I remind him. "How is that short?"

"Shorter than Dickhead's five-ten …"

"That's still seven inches more than me. Anyway you're sixteen, you could still get a few more inches."

Wally considers this. "True." He slings an arm around his friend's shoulder, ready to take off. "Anyway, I'll see you lovely ladies later. Have fun at your movie!"

"Love you," he adds, to me.

I smile. "Love you too."

* * *

"So, Donna told me what happened last night," Toni says, beaming.

I take a bite of my popcorn. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, you and Wally having…" She trails off deliberately, with a tentative glance in Donna's direction. "That thing Donna doesn't want Rosie to know about."

I throw a piece of popcorn at her. "We were just kissing."

Toni huffs. "You just have to ruin all my romantic fantasies." She suddenly grins, a gleam in her eye, and whispers "But you have, right?"

"Have what?"

"_Done it_. You and Wally."

"No!" I exclaim. "God, why does everybody think that?"

"Maybe because you two always talk in thinly-veiled innuendos."

"We do not!"

"Oedipus Slade."

Okay, maybe we do. "That doesn't mean we've had sex," I snap.

She sighs. "I'm so disappointed."

What. "Why?"

She stamps her foot, a little princess-hissy fit. "Because you two are so sweet and romantic and my love-inspiration and I need things to think about when I'm lying in bed at night cold and alone while my emotionally-flat boyfriend is halfway across the country! I can't believe you haven't made it past third yet!"

"Woah, okay slow down," I say. "We haven't even gone to _second_ base."

Toni looks ready to cry. "What? Why not?"

"Um…" Why does everyone have to try to turn my life into a bad romance movie? "I don't… Do you really need to know this?"

"Yes!"

I sigh. "I mean… I don't know, I was fifteen when we met. I just… Don't really feel ready yet. And as far as I know he doesn't either."

"So you've at least talked about it, then?" Toni asks, hopeful.

"No! I mean there's been a couple of times when we almost got to, like, second, and then one of us stopped."

"But he's a guy!" she whines. "Beneath that gentlemanly façade he's probably just dying to touch you!"

"I don't…" Oh, crap, she's totally right. "You think?"

"Darling, please." she says. "He's way too in love with you to say anything that would make you uncomfortable, but guys are born ready!"

"Yeah? Is Aqualad ready?"

She smirks. "Yes, he was very ready."

Was? "Get out! When?"

"Two months ago. And then again last month… Multiple times."

"Seriously? You two barely know each other!" I exclaim.

"I know he's very good in bed."

"Well," I snort, "I guess he had to be good at something."

She sighs. "True. Well, at least his name isn't 'Dick'."

"Yeah, it's a good thing Star hasn't figured that one out yet," I snicker.

"Can you imagine?"

"Robin," I say, in my best imitation of Starfire, "why do others make jokes of the sexual nature after hearing your first name?"

"Well, Starfire," Toni replies, lowering her voice and putting on an American accent, "in English, 'Dick' is a colloquialism for… Uh, well, the… You know…"

"No, I do not. Please, enlighten me to your strange ways."

"Well, you see, um… When a man and a woman really love each other…"

"Shh!" Donna snaps at us. "It's starting."

Toni and I exchange guilty glances, trying not to laugh. "Sorry."

"And not in front of the kids!"

"Sorry."

* * *

"That was so good!" Lorena says to Rosie. Donna grins at me.

"Did a really good job following the book," I say. "Except Lena's plot. I think they made it a bit cliché."

"I didn't mind it so much," Donna says. "I think the friendship between the girls is the most important part, and that was perfectly portrayed, so the other changes didn't bother me."

"Yeah, they really did a good job with the friendship. Acted it well."

The cancer kid was a good actress too.

Been a while since I read the book. I'd forgotten about that plotline.

I'm not sure how.

"Yeah, it's a good thing they focus on that. There's not enough female friendships in the movies," I agree, trying not to think about that damn Tibby plotline.

"It's a good message for the girls to see," Donna comments, glancing at Rosie and Lorena, who are squealing over something or other.

Damn Tibby plot.

I should probably go back and visit her. I mean, she could die. And I don't want her to die without…

I don't know. Without knowing that I don't hate her? But she's the one who hates me. Isn't she the one who hates me?

Oh, god. I hate an eleven year old who's dying of leukemia. I'm a terrible fucking person.

"Donna, can we go?"

"Pleeeeaase?"

I turn around and realize what Rosie and Lorena are squealing about- The American Girl Store.

"Oh, historical fashion!" Toni exclaims. "I want to look! Please, Donna, please?"

Donna grins "Sure."

"Hooray!" the three of them shout, racing into the store.

"Well she's excited."

"Well, they're kids."

"No, I meant Toni."

"Oh."

By the time Donna and I catch up with them, Lorena is looking at a book, and Toni has picked out several doll-sized outfits.

"Look how cute these are!" she exclaims. "And they're so accurate! I can't believe there aren't dolls like this in New Zealand!" Her eyes gleam with clothing-induced joy. "Oh, I've got to get one so I can dress her up in these delightful clothes!" She skips off to pick out a doll, chanting what sounds like "clothes, clothes, clothes, I love clothes" along the way.

Rosie, meanwhile, is staring wide-eyed at the doll display.

"They're really pretty," she muses, to no one in particular.  
"You wanna pick one out?" Donna asks her. Rosie gasps.

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Omigod, thank you so much!" Rosie exclaims, breathlessly. She rushes over to the bookshelf. "Lorena, guess what, guess what! Donna said I can get a doll! You have to help me pick!"

Donna giggles. "I have Molly," she tells me. "Her bed's right next to mine."

"I've seen it," I comment. "I always liked her books. She was such a badass."

"When she won the color war?"

"And the thing with the underwear."

Donna laughs again. "She was my only real girlfriend growing up," she says. "I mean, I love Diana, but she told our mom about like, everything. But Molly was my age. She understood."

"I had Samantha," I admit. "She was pretty much the only friend I had. " I reach a hand towards the Samantha doll on the display, trail a finger down one of her perfectly done curls. "I left her behind when I left the HIVE. Boys probably threw her away or burned her or something."

Donna makes a soft humming noise, and places a hand on my shoulder. She seems like she's about to say something, but Rosie and Lorena bounce up to us before she can.

"Okay, I picked!" Rosie says happily.

"Yeah, which one?" Donna asks.

Rosie holds up the doll box. "Kirsten. Because she's blonde and has blue-eyes like me."

"You're calling yourself blonde now, kid?" I ask.

"Well, you can't be half an albino," she explains, clearly proud of herself for knowing this. "I looked it up. And I'm too young to be prematurely gray. So that leaves towheaded blonde, which means it'll probably get darker when I grow up."

I used to do that when I was younger. Tell myself I was a redhead. Try to convince myself I was normal.

"Anyway, Kirsten's a great choice," I tell her. "You'll love the books."

"1850s, right?"

"That's right. She moves from Sweden to live on her cousin's farm."

"That's so cool! Does the book come with the doll?"

"The first one. I'm sure Donna will buy you the others."

"You think?" She rushes over to ask, not even giving me the chance to finish.

She seems so normal. I'd almost believe her hair really is just really light blonde.

It's a good think we got her off the street when we did.

I wonder what Audrey was like. Before.

"Wally! Wally, look what Donna got me!"

Rosie runs across the room so fast he almost doesn't turn around before she gets there. Happiness, evidently, is outrunning the speedster.

"Whoa! Who's this pretty new friend of yours?"

"Her name is Kirsten, and she's nine years old, just like me, and she lives in…"

Wally listens intently as Rosie and Lorena tell him every little detail she can think of. He is so good with kids. With everyone, really. People just _like_ him, immediately.

Unlike me.

"Alright, it's probably time for me to get Lorena home," Wally says.

"Oooohhhh…."

"Can I sleep over?"

"Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplea se?"

"Don't fall for that," I say. "They've been doing that all night."

"Have not!"

"Come on, please?"

"How are you breathing, Lorena?"

This question shuts them up. As much as they'd like to pretend otherwise, they both know Lorena has maybe another half-hour in her before her lungs stop breathing air. Three months and she can still barely stay out of the water for three hours. It's sad.

It doesn't phase her, though. She just grabs her purse and says, "When you come over next weekend bring Kirsten! She and Josefina are gonna have so much fun!"

Rosie hugs her friend. "Okay! See you then."

"Bye guys!" Lorena says, waving at Donna, Toni and I. "Thanks for having me!"

"You're welcome, honey," Donna says. There's a blur of colors, and Wally is gone and back within seconds.

"So how was the movie?" he asks, flopping down onto the couch. He points a finger at Toni and Toni's shopping bags. "And what did you buy?"

Toni grins from ear to ear and holds up the Felicity doll she bought. "A new model."

"Oh… 'Kay."

"Movie was good," I reply, sitting down next to him and leaning against his chest. He wraps an arm around my waist. "What did you do all night?"

He smirks. "I got Jericho out of his room, is what I did."

"No way!"

"You _what_?" Donna exclaim, nearly bolting to the couch.

"How'd you do _that_?"Rosie asks, clutching Kirsten to her chest.

":Ladies, please, calm down," he says, gesturing vaguely. "Let me teach you a little something about men." Donna opens her mouth, but he, as usual, is faster. He jabs a finger in her direction. "Not like that. Guys, you see, all have one thing in common. Stop it Donna, still not that. _Food_. We like food."

I snort. "What'd you do, bribe him with pie?"

"Cake, actually. He came out of his room, ate a slice… And then went back in his room."

Donna slumps onto the couch. "He did?"

"Well, hey, it's still progress," Wally says, shrugging. "I mean, I thought it would work. I woke up this morning and I said, 'Wally, today's the day you and Jericho are gonna have some guy time, so go scalp yourself some baseball tix."

I raise an eyebrow. "That was the extent of your plan?"

"We're guys, baby, eating and watching people get beat up is just how we bond," he jokes. "He didn't want to go though and then Dick was busy so I had to throw 'em out. Waste of two perfectly good Braves tickets."

I roll my eyes and pat him on the shoulder. "That's because you're the only person this side of the Mason-Dixon line who cares about the Braves." He gives an exaggerated pout, which makes me chuckle.

The phone rings.  
"I'll get it," Donna says sadly. She slinks to the other side of the room to pick it up. "Hello?"

"She likes him," Rosie whispers, as though this were a revelation.

"Well, maybe she'll have more luck with him than me," Wally replies.

"Uh, Jinx?" Donna says, holding the phone out. "It's your sister."

Oh, God. I mean, I know I should want to meet with her again, to get to know her, but...

Why do I have to?

"Hey, Hannah, what's up?" I say when I pick up the phone.

"This isn't Hannah."

Audrey.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about?"

Or, more accurately, what is it that was so important that you bothered to talk to me? Considering that, last time, you threw me out of your room just for breathing wrong.

Audrey looks at me, eyes narrow. "Hannah says you know about St. Claire's."

I fold my arms and lean against the wall. "Yeah, so?"

"So I didn't _tell_ anyone about St. Claire's. How the hell do you know about it?"

I chuckle, darkly. I can't quite stop myself. "Okay, first off, where the hell did you learn to swear like that?"

"My parents. Where did you?"

"Movies."

She snorts. "Wow, that's lame."

"Better than having parents who swear in front of me."

"Nah, they just don't know I listen when they're yellin' at each other," she says, shrugging. "You gonna answer my question or not?"

"You gonna kick me out again?"

She tugs uncomfortably at her IV line. "Not if I like your answer."

That makes me laugh. "Good one. You're not bad at this, for a kid."

"You either. For a teenager."

Might as well give her what she's after. "Anyway, I didn't figure it out, my boyfriend did. He called them up looking for my birth certificate. They mentioned you."

"Why'd he call them?"

"Because I used to live there."

She nods, considering this. "So they've done this before?"

"Your parents?"

"Our parents."

Of course.

"Yeah, they have."

"Why didn't Hannah know?"

I sit down in the chair, the hard plastic kind, by her nightstand. It's raining outside, the sky an odd shade of blue-grey that doesn't fit an early summer morning in California.

"No offense," I reply, "but I don't think Hannah's too bright."

"She did near perfect on her SATs," Audrey says.

"Street smart, then."

"Hm." She can't deny that.

"Why?"

Well, that's a loaded gun she's got there.

"I don't know," I say. "I never even met them?"

"Do they hate you?"

"Do they hate _you_?"

She twirls the IV cord around her finger, so tight the skin turns crimson."If I pulled this out," she states, "I'd die. I think they'd like that."

"Audrey…"

"So I'm not doing it. 'Cause this?" she points at a vein, her blood, poisoned and far too visible through the fading color of her skin. "It's not gonna kill me. It's gonna kill _them_. I'm not letting them do this to anyone else."

I smirk. "You're one tough little bitch, you know that?"

She smirks back. "You gonna help me teach them a lesson?"

She holds out her hand, a devil's deal between two fallen angels.

I shake it.

_Oh close up camera two  
Cause the hero dies in this scene  
Your inspiration is the loss of absolutely everything  
And flashback on the girl  
As we montage every memory  
And we bleed out in the bathroom sink  
And we fade out as the soundtrack sings:_

_You're like a black cat with a black back pack full of fireworks_  
_And you're gonna burn the city down right now_

* * *

Author's notes:

So that ending? That just sort of happened. I was not planning it at all. I was even going to start the chapter sooner but then it was way too boring a chapter so I added this on. I was intending for Audrey to just be hostile and bitchy for a while but…. Well this is more interesting. I'm not totally sure where I'm going with it buts definitely more interesting, XD. Oh, and, um, Audrey's not actually planning to kill anyone, just in case that was unclear. She's just being metaphoric. XD.

As for the rest of this chapter, it's totally filler, but its setting up a couple of important things for later. And that conversation between Jinx and Toni was just me goofing off because I get such a kick out of writing Toni. XD

So, I posed a little riddle in the notes for the most recent chapter of _Trainspotting_. First person to get it right gets to request a one-shot! (I'll write pretty much anything, as long as it doesn't split up RobinxStarfire or Flinx, and since most of my story's are in the same continuity, I'd prefer to stick to that continuity, but I might be willing to be flexible on that.) Nobody's even tried yet, so if you're interested please do! (Um, I'll also write one-shots for fanart?)

Thanks to my brother for editing.


	6. Imaginary

Imaginary

"Am I being crazy?"

"I wasn't going to say crazy, just…"

"Impulsive?" I suggest. "'Cause Wally thinks I'm being impulsive."

Toni takes a slow sip of her tea. "My word was emotional."

"Emotional…" I scoff. I'm not being emotional… Oh, of course I am. "How so?"

We are sitting in the mall food court with tea and pastries. Toni is surrounded by a small colony of shopping bags. I could swear they have mated with each other and multiplied since we sat down. I have like one.

"You want to get back at the parents who abandoned you and forced you into a life of villainy," she says, far too rationally. "I get that. And if it helps Audrey, who's going through the same thing you did, not to mention a life-threatening illness, all the better. You're angry at your parents and concerned for Audrey, ergo: acting out of emotion."

"Ergo?"

She raises her eyebrows. "Seemed fitting."

I sigh and pick crumbs out of my muffin. "I mean, it's not like we're gonna _hurt_ anyone. I just… It's not _okay_. What they did to her, I mean. I…"

I shake my head. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm bothering you with this."

"You're not bothering me," Toni says, sounding shocked. "I mean, we're supposed to talk about things! We're best friends!"

I feel… Shy, all of a sudden. "Best friends?"

"Well, yeah," she says. "I mean, aren't we?"

"Never had a best friend before," I say, smiling. "Come to think of it I've never been friends with girls before."

"Oh, me either," Toni replies. She tosses her hair with one hand. "They're intimidated by my beauty."

"Right."

Toni's cell phone rings. "Hello? Oh, hey Sean. What's up? Yeah… Yeah, alright. Jinx and I are just at the mall, we can be right there. Alright… Sure thing, darling, not a problem."

She hangs up and looks at me. "They got a witness. Want us go down and talk to him, just to chat, they're not doing formal questioning yet."

"'Kay," I say, grabbing my purse. "Toni, don't you think it's a little strange that he always calls you instead me or Wally? You know, the leaders."

"It's not strange," she insists. "We're just friends, is all."

"Toni."

"Well it's not like I'm sleeping with "him!"

"But you are sleeping with Aqualad."

She sighs. "I know. I don't know. I don't want to crush him, but…"

"Which him?"

"I don't know!" she sobs, burying her face in her hands. "I just don't know what to do!"

"Want an ice cream cone to go?" I ask. She nods.

* * *

The police station is swarming when we arrive. It's a nice building, but on a summer day like today it gets kind of humid in here, especially with so many people, and the lighting's all fluorescent, so the entire room just seems to buzz. Old buildings sometimes seem alive. This one seems like a robot.

I recognize a few of the officers, but not many of them. Toni worms through the crowd until she spots Sean.

"Hey!" she says, waving. He nods and motions for us to follow him. We slip through the crowd and into a hallway.

"What's with all the people?" I ask, as soon as we're close enough for him to hear.

"Case sort of blew up after the Jump City murder," Sean explains. "You wouldn't believe how hard I'm working just to keep us on this case."

"You ID'ed the girl yet?"

"We've narrowed it down through the missing person's reports. The DNA tests should be conclusive."

He leads us down the hallway to a room that looks like an office.

"He's in here."

"Not an interrogation room?" I ask.

Sean shrugs. "No official questioning yet. Boss says he's the only lead we got and we need to make sure not to scare him off."

"How's his alibi?" Toni asks.

"Decent. He works at a restaurant near where the body was found. Says he was just leaving when he found her. His boss confirms that he was on shift right before he called in, so…" He sighs. "I don't know. I don't trust this guy." He opens the door.

The witness is sitting at a desk, frantically writing and erasing words in a crossword puzzle. He looks up. "Oh, hi," he says, with a nervous laugh. "Sorry, I'm just, just a little uncomfortable, and…"

"Don't be, you're not being accused of anything." Sean tells him. He gestures at us. "Anyway, this is Jinx and Argent. They're from the Teen Titans. Guys, this is Sidney Hale."

He stands up and holds out a hand. "Sid," he says. He's a tall, gangly looking guy with dishwater blond curls. He's not ugly, exactly, but something about his face seems a bit asymmetrical.

Toni shakes his hand. "Nice to meet you, Sid."

"So we can't question him?" I whisper to Sean.

"Not yet," Sean replies, teeth gritted.

Well, that sucks. "Sorry you had to be the one to find the body," I say. It's as close as I can get.

Sid shrugs. His joints seems too big for him, his shoulders go all the way to his ears with the movement. "I just feel bad for the family. Families."

Girls one through three were found by the police. Which somehow makes it a bit more weird that this one wasn't. Were they just hidden better? Or did someone want the last one to be found?

* * *

"Hey, guys, we're…" I stop in my tracks as I enter the main room."What are you doing?"

Wally, who is sitting at the counter with an entire pizza and an ice-cream sundae, sobs. "I'm eating my feelings."

I sit down next to him. "What happened?"

He whimpers and takes an enormous bite of pizza. "Lizzie set the wedding date."

"Oh." I place my hand on his. "When is it?"

"August 14."

"That's really soon," I comment. Oh God. "Is she…"

He shovels a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "Yup."

"And your dad…"

"Would throw a fit if he found out his precious Elizabeth conceived a child outside of wedlock, yeah."

I rest my head against his shoulder. "And you don't want to go?"

He sighs, absent-mindedly fidgeting with my fingers. "No, I do, I just… I love Lizzie but my parents aren't exactly my favorite people."

"I know the feeling."

"You're coming, right?" He asks,

"'Course," I reply. "I'll even wear something sexy, if it makes you feel better."

He smirks. "Little bit."

"So I guess we have to talk shop?" I grumble.

"Oh, yeah. What was the witness like?"

I grit my teeth. "I dunno. Weird. You and Donna should probably meet him, 'cause Toni I don't know what to make of him."

"'Kay, " He says. "Oh, by the way, Dick called for you."

"For me?" I glance at my communicator. "On the phone?"

"Wasn't urgent," Wally explains. "He wants you to go to the JLA conference with him."

What? "He wants _me_ to go?"

"You're a good leader," Wally says. "Anyway you should call him back."

I yawn. "I'll do it later. I've had enough work stuff for one day."

"Take-out and a movie?" Wally suggests.

"Sounds perfect."

"Cool. What you feel like? 'Cause I'm thinking Chinese but it's morning there so it might be hard to find…" He stops speaking abruptly and smirks at me. "Is that my shirt?"

I glance down at my _Nightmare Before Christmas _shirt. Oh. Oh crap. "Sorry. It must have gotten mixed in with my laundry or…"

"Or you stole it," he suggests.

I cross my arms. "Okay fine I stole it. What's your point?"

"Nothin'. Just thought you were done stealing."

I shrug. "It smells like you," I admit. "I can go change if you need it back or…"

"Keep it," he interrupts. "A girl in my clothes is kind of hot."

I can feel my face heat up. "Oh, is it?" I say, smirking. "I didn't know."

"Know what's hotter?"

"Things we're not suppose to talk about in a room Rosie might waltz into at any moment?"

"Actually, I was gonna say that movie we're gonna watch being _Aladdin_," he jokes. "Perv."

I laugh and roll my eyes. "What is it with you and Disney movies?"

"Says the girl wearing my _Nightmare Before Christmas_ shirt."

"Oh, yeah."

This cracks him up. "Tell you what," he says. His eyes sparkle with laughter. They always do. "You and the girls pick a movie, I'll get dinner."

"Kay." He stands up. "Wally?" I say, just as he reaches the door.

He turns to look at me. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

He smiles and nods. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

* * *

"So then _she_ said 'I promised him I'd get you'd try' and then _I_ said 'But I don't speak Spanish' and then _she_ said 'I'll translate' and _I_ said, 'fine, I'll go out with Freddy if _you_ go out with Carlos' and _she_ said 'okay, we'll make it a double date, wear something cute so you look like you're trying'," Rosie explains, all in one breath. "And _that_ is why I need to borrow your purple sweater on Tuesday."

"Alright," Toni says, sifting through a pile of DVDs. "But don't get pizza grease on it."

"I won't," Rosie says, throwing her arms around her. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

I raise an eyebrow. "Aren't they thirteen?"

"Twelve, why?"

"So you're nine."

"And three-quarters," she reminds me.

I smile and roll my eyes. "Right, sorry."

"I'm with Jinx," Donna chimes in. "I think you're a little young to be dating."

"What?" Rosie exclaims. "But I already said I'd go!"

"You're never too young for romance," Toni declares. She holds up a DVD. "_The Notebook_?"

"Ew," I say. "Why do we even own that?"

"It's romantic!"

"It's cheesy," I say, holding up another movie "What about _Scream_?"

"Cool!" Rosie says brightly.

Toni pouts. "You know I don't like horror movies."

"It's a _parody_."

"Well either way, it's not appropriate for Rosie," Donna insists.

Rosie looks offended. "But it's a parody!"

"Yeah!"

"So is _Animal House_!"

Toni and I burst into laughter. I lie down on the couch. "Wally voted for _Aladdin_," I say, shrugging.

Argent gasps. "I love _Aladdin_!"

"Me too," Rosie adds. She sits next to me. "So I can go, right?"

I hold my hands in the air. "Don't look at me, sweetie, you know the rules. Donna's in charge of you."

She looks at Donna and sticks her lower lip. "Please?"

Toni does the same. "Pretty please?" I cover my mouth to keep from incredibly shrill laughter.

"Well…"

"Bumblebee'll be there the whole time!"

"Okay," Donna says, reluctantly. "But I'm talking to her before and after."

"Yes!" Rosie and Toni exclaim, in perfect unison.

"Oh, your first date, this is so exciting!" Toni sighs. "I can't wait to help you with your clothes, and your hair, and… I better start planning!" She dashes off towards her room, probably to get her sketchbook.

"Speaking of first dates…" Donna says nervously.

"Did you ask him?" I ask.

She winces. "No. I got up to his door and everything and I chickened out."

"You should try again," I tell her. "I mean, what's it gonna hurt?"

"My very delicate feelings?"

Rosie giggles. "Want me to ask him for you? 'Cause Freddy asked Lorena to ask me and…"

"I'm seventeen!" Donna exclaims. "It's okay to do that in grade school, but when you're my age, Rosie, you'll understand asking someone out is a very exacting and fragile process!"

"Donna," I say, "relax. Just knock on his door, and say 'would you like to go on a date sometime'."

She nods and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. "Okay," she says. "Okay. I can do this. I'm gonna do this." she stands up and walks into the hallway, just as Toni comes back, notebook in hand.

"Where's she going?" Toni asks, sitting down on the couch.

"To ask Jericho out," Rosie tells.

Toni gasps. "She's going to do it?"

I shrug. "What do you think, waterworks in…"

"Jinx!"

"I know, I know, I'm a terrible person," I laugh. "Two minutes?"

Toni grits her teeth. "Minute and a half."

Rosie holds up her watch, and the three of us huddle around it.

"Three, two, and…"

Donna bursts through the door, sobbing. Minute and a half on the dot.

"He said no!" she cries.

"He did?" Toni soothes.

"Well he shook his head and shut the door in my face!"

Toni pats the spot next to her on the couch. "Sit down, darling." Donna nods weakly and sits down, burying her face in her hands. Toni wraps an arm around her.

"I know it seems tough now," she says, "but it'll be alright. You're a strong, independent, beautiful young woman, and there are plenty of much better, much _prettier_ fish in the sea."

I snort. "Did you get that from Aqualad?"

"Maybe."

"I know," Donna sniffs. "It's just, I grew up on a mystical island where men weren't allowed! I don't understand how to do this!"

"Donna, it's not your fault," I tell her. "He's kind of a recluse. He's probably got some baggage. It's hard for people like to open up."

"Listen to her, she knows," Argent says.

I narrow my eyes at her. "Thanks," I grumble. "And, hey, maybe he's gay?"

"What?" Donna exclaims.

I shrug. "It could happen," I say. "I totally saw an N*SYNC CD in his room once."

"You were in his room?" she shrieks.

"I needed to borrow his easel," I explain.

"Not helping, Jinx," Toni snaps. "It is a nice easel, though."

"I know, right?"

"And did you see that flower he painted?"

"The yellow or the blue?"

"The yellow!" she gasps. "I forgot about the yellow! That shade of yellow would go perfectly with the purple sweater!" She flips her notebook open. "Oh, the possibilities! The wonderful outfits I could make!"

The door swings open. "How are my four favorite girls?" Wally exclaims. "I've got a stir-fry and dumplings and some tofu thing I can't pronounce and…" He stops by the couch, holding several big bags of food. "What's wrong?"

Donna makes an incomprehensible sound. "She asked Jericho out," I say.

"Ooohhh," Wally says. He kneels down and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Donna, anyone who rejects you doesn't deserve you. A lot of us guys are stupid, Donna, you just gotta keep looking until you find a good one."

I snort. "You are such a girl," I tell him.

He leans over and whispers in my ear, "Want me to prove to you that I'm not?"

"Not in front of Rosie!" Donna shrieks.

Wally laughs and flops down next to me. "Anyway, I kinda think he's gay. I mean, I totally saw an N*SYNC CD in his room once."

"Told you."

"Has everyone been in his room but me?" Donna shrieks.

"Yeah, when were _you_ in his room?" Toni asks.

Wally shrugs. "Guy time." I narrow my eyes at him.

"Guy time?"

"Well, I tried, anyway. So did we pick a movie?"

I toss his _Aladdin_ DVD at him. "You won."

"Sweet." He starts to put it in the DVD player, then. "This gonna cheer you up or make it worse?" He asks Donna.

She sniffs. "Cheer me up."

"Just checking."

"Are you gonna sing along again?" Rosie asks.

"Of course!"

"Oh, god, please don't try to make me duet with you this time," I say.

"But you're my princess!"

I roll my eyes. "I'll think about it."

Rosie giggling. "I'll sing for Jasmine if she doesn't wanna," she says.

"Sweet," Wally replies, giving her a high-five.

The movie starts, and the two of them proceed to do exactly that. Wally is carrying a giggling Rosie around the room, belting out "A Whole New World", when my phone rings.

"Hello?"

"It's Audrey. I figured out a plan."

* * *

"So what's the plan?" I ask, making sure the door to Audrey's hospital room is closed behind me.

She glances at my _Nightmare Before Christmas_ shirt. "You are such a cliché," she snorts, rolling her eyes. "And what the fuck is wrong with your arms?"

I have made the mistake of wearing short sleeves today. I am covered in scars. A lot of them are from things that come with the territory of being bad luck- shards of glass that got embedded in my legs, broken bones that went through the skin, scraped knees and papercuts and gashes that bled and bled and never bothered to heal.

Accidents. A lot of them.

A lot of them weren't.

"I'm a cliché," I respond.

She smiles at that. She is playing games with me but I am playing them right back.

"I want to get emancipated," Audrey tells me.

"Good plan," I say. After what they did to her- to us- they is no way we would lose in court.

"Gonna need a lawyer," she says. "And a place to stay. When I get out of here." If she gets out of here, but I don't correct her.

She looks at me, bright pink eyes that burn a hole in her cherubic features.

"I'll see what I can do."

_I linger in the doorway_  
_Of alarm clock screaming_  
_Monsters calling my name_

* * *

Author's notes:

Hey, guys. Sorry for the delay, as always. Long story short, high school has not been good to me. The last four years have been rough. But I've graduated now, so, we'll see if things start looking up.

Also, sorry if I didn't respond to your review. I've lost track of which ones I've responded to, so I'm just going to skip the ones from the most recent chapters of this and of _Trainspotting_, and pick up with reviews for this chapter. I'm so so sorry if I've skipped yours, it's my mistake and nothing personal. I appreciate all of your support so so so much and I'll try to respond more quickly and consistently from here out.

So about this chapter… Ugh, I dunno. I really don't think this story is my best work and I don't understand why it's so popular. I'm trying to think of it as a character study, but even so I just don't get why people like this thing so much. I'm wondering if the reason this story's popularity and my feelings about it are so mismatched is because Jinx and I are very, very similar (Obviously our life stories are very different, and she's a devoted artist and I'm actually kind of passionless, and I'm not nearly as much of a chocoholic as she is, but other than that… Yeah, we're pretty much the same person. XD) So, while other people might find it fascinating from a character-study perspective (the way writing Roy and Jade in _Trainspotting_ is for me), to me, it's just sort of how I see the world everyday. (Don't get me wrong, I love Jinx just as much as I love the rest of the characters. It's just different writing her, since we're so similar.)

So, yeah, that's all I have to say, really. Sorry if this chapter was boring. The plot should start existing soon. XD _Trainspotting_ is better. XD

By the way, Freddy and Carlos are Mas and Menos. I dunno which is which. XD Freddy comes from their voice actor, Freddy Rodriguez, and their last name is Perez, for George Perez, who drew the _Teen Titans_ comics in the 80s. Carlos I just thought sounded nice.

Title and lyrics from "Imaginary" by Evanescence. (In case anyone noticed: yes, this chapter used to have a different name and epigraph. The artist of the original song recently got upset about her name being used in a book, so I decided to change the song, out of respect for her. And also because I sort of freaked out and didn't want her to find this story and get mad at me. XD)

Thanks to my brother for editing!


	7. Important Author's Note

**Important Author's Note:**

So first off I just want to say that I'm not trying to be a drama queen about any of this, nor am I trying to beg for readers/reviews. I'm really sorry if any of this comes across that way. I'm actually just having a really fucking terrible couple of days, for reasons I don't really want to talk about. A lot of things are going on, and this is about the only thing I can actually fix right now, so I'm just hoping doing so will make me feel better.

So I'm not really happy with this story. I've really only been writing it because it was decently popular and I didn't want to let anyone down. But it's just not quite working the way I want it to, and the last chapter only got one review, so I'm not even sure if people are reading it anymore. And since that was the only reason I was still writing this, if people aren't reading it anymore, then I'll probably just drop the story, since it's not very interesting for me. I have been planning for it to intersect with _Trainspotting_ in a way that I think is kind of interesting (essentially, an incredibly minor plot point in one kicks off the climax of the other), but other than that I'm just not really _excited_ about writing this story, certainly not the way I am about _Trainspotting_.

I have another, much better (in my opinion, anyway) idea for a Flinx story. It would be in the same continuity (since all my stories are), though a few years after this one (mostly because it weirds me out that Jinx and Wally are younger then me in this story, since they were older for most of the time I was writing the first one. XD), and in my opinion it's just a much better story. A big part of me wants to stop writing this and just write that other story instead. But if people are really invested in this story, I'm willing to continue writing it. So please just let me know- are you guys still reading this? Do you want me to continue it, or would you rather I set this aside (at least for now) and work on my other idea instead? (Also, does anyone mind if I retcon the ages of the YJ kids? Retconning things makes me feel awful but they should be younger and its bugging me. XD)

So that's it. Again, I'm really really sorry I'm even asking this. To all my readers- your support really does mean the world for me. Thanks for always sticking with me despite long absences, telling me to feel better when I'm having health issues, and for just taking the time out your busy lives to read and review. You guys are awesome!

-Elle


	8. A Retinue of Moons

A Retinue Of Moons

"I just want to thank you again for doing this," Robin says.

"No problem," I reply. He and I are about to leave for the Justice League's annual conference. It'll probably be weird, but he asked me to go, for some reason. Saying yes felt like the nice thing to do.

Wally is sitting on the couch of Robin's living room, pouting. "I'm gonna miss you," I smile and roll my eyes.

"It's only two days," I tell him.

"Which is forever when you have superspeed!" he exclaims. "And anyway it's the longest we've been apart since we got together."

"Ooh," I whimper. I didn't realize that. "Now _I'm_ sad."

He stands up and wraps his arms around my waist. "I just wish the location didn't have to be top-secret."

I lean my forehead against his. "I'll buy you a souvenir."

He kisses me. "It better be good."

I kiss him. "It will be."

"Oh my god," Robin says, "you two are like a tween sitcom, do you know that?"

"Please," I say, "like you and Starfire are any better."

"Oh, they're worse," Wally chimes in. "Have you seen her room?"

"Not in a couple months. Why?"

"She's got one of those cardboard cutouts."  
"That's kind of creepy."

"She drew hearts on it."

"You know what else she could have drawn?" I snicker.

"Seriously, guys, stop that! Geez, Donna wasn't kidding about you two!" Robin exclaims. "And we have to go."

"Okay, fine," I say, giving him an exaggerated eye roll.

Wally kisses me again. "You be nice."

"No promises."

He laughs and turns to Robin. "And you…" His eyes suddenly bug out. "What happened to your hair?"Robin grins fiendishly and turns slightly to show off his…

Shoulder-length ponytail.

I burst into laughter. "Omigod, that's a clip in right?" I say breathlessly.

Robin shakes his head, still smirking. "Grew it out," he says. "I enjoy messing with Bruce."

"Dick, you grew out your hair _just _to mess with your dad?" Wally asks, shocked.

"Well, its not exactly a turn-off for the _ladies_ either."

"Seriously? Dude, you're not a player. Stop trying to sound like a player."

"Says the guy who got an earring to impress his girlfriend."

Wally snorts. "It's a… cartilage… piercing…" He says, trying to sound tough and failing miserably. "And I didn't do it to impress her, I just… felt like it."

"I do think it's really hot, though," I say.

Wally nods, satisfied. "Thank you."

"And so's Robin's ponytail."

"See?" Robin snickers. "It's a hit with girls."

Wally makes a face. "Well it doesn't go with your costume. Your costume's for a short guy with hair gel."

I raise a finger. "Toni could totally hook you up with a new one."

Robin smiles, but it seems wistful, somehow. "Yeah. Yeah, maybe." He glances at his watch. "We really have to leave now."

"'Kay," I give Wally one last kiss. "Bye. Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

"You know I've never been in one of these before," I say, buckling my seatbelt on the airplane. We are flying first class, courtesy of Batman. Robin let me have the window seat.

"Really?" He asks, fishing around in his carry-on for something.

"Yeah," I say, staring out the window. I can see people outside, airport workers, I guess. I don't know what they're doing, but it's sort of interesting. "I'd never left California before Paris, and since then, well, you know, Wally's faster."

Robin laughs. "Yeah." He finds what his looking for in his bag- a pair of glasses. He takes off his sunglasses.

I've never seen his eyes before.

They're blue, but they don't look at all like Wally's. Wally's eyes are bright and vibrant, the color of the sky. Robin's are much darker, almost navy. They have a somber look to them, but then, that isn't a surprise.

"Didn't know you wore glasses," I say, as he puts them on. He chuckles.

"Blind as a bat without 'em" he says. I'm pretty sure he intended the irony of that sentence. "Lenses on my mask are prescription."

"Seriously?"

"Why do you think I never take it off?"

"To preserve your secret identity?"

"Well, that too"

I"I wear contacts," I say.

He smiles. "Small world."

I look back out the window. God, this is awkward. This is literally the first time I've had a one-on-one conversation with the guy. I feel like I should make an effort, it would mean a lot to Wally if I did, but… I don't even know if I'm supposed to call Robin or Dick or Richard or what. I'm pretty sure I still have some of the things I stole from his room that one time.

This is just so fucking _weird_.

Not to mention the fact that, as he explained to me earlier, two representatives from each non-JLA team are allowed to come to this conference. Apparently there's another one sometime in the winter that everyone's expected to go to. But for this one, the leader of the team comes and brings one guest. Robin could have picked anyone- Wally or Donna or Raven or _Star_.

He picked me.

The plane takes off, and I find myself staring out the window in awe. Everything seems so small. It's sort of gorgeous and amazing and terrifying, just to see the world from so far away.

Robin laughs when he sees my expression."You really haven't been on these."

I shake my head. "Is it weird that I'm kind of freaked out?" I ask. "Like, how does it not just fall and crush all of us? Especially with _me_ on board."

"It's perfectly safe, Jinx," he reassures me. He's taken a notebook out of his bag, and is going over his notes for the conference. His hair falls in his eyes and he laughs nervously as he brushes it away, not used to the length.

Gosh, he's really different out of costume. He just seems so nice. So normal.

"Why, um," I begin. I pause, trying to stop myself from stumbling over the words. "Why did you ask me to come to this?"

He writes something in his notebook, doesn't look up. "I thought about bringing Rae, but I didn't want to take two people out of one team. Figured I should take a leader; Bee's already short a player, Wally's got that all that family stuff going on, and that left you and Hotspot." He chuckles at that. "You were the obvious choice."

"Yeah" I say. He's leaving something out, I can just feel it. But I don't want to push him. I hardly know him. I'm just glad we're not at each other's throats anymore. I reach into my bag for my iPod. Hopefully it'll help me stop freaking out about plane crashes.

"And…" Robin says, suddenly. I'm not sure if he can read me as well as I'm reading him, knows that I can tell he's leaving something out, or if he just needs whatever this is off his chest. I guess it doesn't matter. "And this is the first conference I'll be going to since I worked for Slade. Believe me when I say if there's anyone I want there for this it's you. "

"'Cause I've been through it," I realize. Of course.

"They can't pick on me when you're so much worse," he says. A joke. Even he doesn't think it's funny.

"So you're just using me, then?" I joke back. God, I'm not funny either, am I?

He laughs. "No, I... I have to give a full report about my time there," he explains. "I don't know how much I'll be able to get away with leaving out and it'll be the first time Bruce hears it and…" He's not writing anymore but his eyes are still fixated on his notebook.

"There, um…" His breathing seems heavy. "There are only two people who know what really happened. And one is _him_ and the other is Raven and she read my mind, so, so I haven't… I've never actually _told_ anyone. So…" I've lost track of what he's talking about, but I've noticed that his face is chalky and white and that he's digging his fingernails into the armrest.

"So..." I say.

"So there are some things in this report," he continues.

"Things," I say. I don't expect him to continue.

To my surprise, he does.

"Things like Slade raping me."

What?

Oh, my…

Oh, my God.

I don't what to say. I barely know him. How do I respond to that? "I…" I start to say I'm sorry, but it doesn't feel right. "I, um..."

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. Rae's given me the, the therapy stuff, and... We've talked through most of it, I just…" He exhales, like dropping a weight. "I've never said it aloud." He runs a hand through his hair. "I wasn't gonna say anything in my presentation but… Raven, she convinced me. He's done some pretty bad stuff to her to, and then there's _Terra_, and… Well, if I didn't say anything then, then he was going to get away with it, and... I'm sorry. I'm probabaly freaking you out..."

I shake my head. "It's pretty tough to freak me out."

"I figured," he says. "I'm still sorry, I just... Raven _read my mind_. I've _never_ actually told anyone and..."

"And you didn't want the first time to be…"

"In clinical language while I'm standing at the front of a lecture hall giving a powerpoint to the fucking JLA," he finishes. "Yeah."

"But... You're okay?" I ask. "To go to this, I mean. Of course you're not gonna be..."

"I'm fine," he says, nodding. "Thank you."

I press the buttons on my iPod, just to do something with my hands. "Why me, though?" I ask. "Why not… Someone you know? Wally or Donna, or, well, um… Starfire?"

He smiles weakly. "Well, like you said. I knew you wouldn't freak."

"Starfire," he continues "is amazing. And I know that she would handle this…" He shakes his head, fumbling for the word. His eyes light up when he talks about her. "_Beautifully_. I know that, I really do. And Wally and Donna have been my best friends for years and I love them dearly. But... I'm not ready to tell them. You didn't know me before, not really. I was… I was different. You can't see that. You can't make that connection, can't realize that … That the nights I wake up screaming or, or the fact that I won't wear a bathing suit or go into a public bathroom without someone waiting outside the door… That none of it started until after and…"

"To you, it's just something that happened. Cold facts," he says quietly. He's crying. "To them it's a tragedy.

He wipes his eyes. "I guess I was raised to be comfortable with the facts."

I look at his notebook, and realize he wasn't writing at all. Instead the page is covered by a harshly-drawn "S", the corners sharp rather than round, the lines pressed deep into the paper.

He sees what I'm looking at and half laughs. "Oh, that. I draw that everywhere. I hardly even realize when I do it."

He undoes the top few buttons of his shirt band pulls back the collar. There is an S-shaped scar, right where his heart should be.

"He did that one to me," he says. He rolls up one of his sleeves, revealing similar scars up and down his arm. "But apparently I do the rest of them in my sleep."

I press my lips together. He's pouring his heart out to me, someone hardly more than a stranger. It's sad, but also… Well, he's never seemed more human.

"I'm a cutter," I tell him. It's the best I can offer, in exchange for what he has just told me. "I haven't in a while, but… You know."

"I know," he says. We both do.

* * *

"I'll sign us in," Robin tells me, as we arrive at the hotel the conference is being held at. When Robin said "conference" he wasn't kidding- we're hsomewhere in Florida and people are wearing business suits. Toni even loaned me a blazer, just in case. "Can you grab our packets? They should be over there somewhere?"

He gestures towards a table covered in folders. Each one has a schedule, a variety of documents and pamphlets and, clipped to the front, a nametag. I dig through them until I find "Richard Grayson, Robin, Teen Titans" and "Olivia Tudor, Jinx, Teen Titans".

According to Robin, the conference is unbelievably secure. No reporters, no outsiders. The location is top-secret to everyone- even family members and other heroes- except select members of hotel staff, who are given specific instructions to prevent anyone else from entering the area or even knowing what's going on. Because of this, the participants are more relaxed about their identities, and use real names and hero names almost interchangeably. He says it's the one time when nobody really cares.

Still, it's weird. I wonder how they sign-in Congorilla.

I hand Robin his packet and start reading my schedule. The lectures include things like "Ethics of Controversial Fighting Techniques" and "The JLA Database and You". "Well, shit," I mutter.

Robin shrugs. "Yeah, this conference can be pretty dry. Winter one's usually-"

"Okay," someone interrupts him, "you two are dressed like you're going to a funeral. Must be with the Titans."

"Peej, hey! Robin says, waving at the woman who just entered the room. She looks like she's in her twenties, and has a blond bob and… Really, really big boobs.

She walks up to him and gives him a hug. "'Sup, Dick?" "Nothing much," he says. "You here with JSA?"

"Nah, Carter and Kendra," she says. "I'm here as an independent."

"Oh, right, you're in Boston! How's school?" he says.

"I'm really enjoying it," she says. She smiles slyly. "So I hear you have a girlfriend these days?"

Robin laughs nervously. "So, uh, Peej. this is my coworker, Jinx. Jinx this is Power Girl."

"PJ," she tells me. "Or Peej. Cool boots."

"Thanks," I say."I like your outfit."

She's wearing a biker jacket and jeans rather than a suit or a hero costume. "Thanks," she says brightly. "They were all 'bring a business suit' and I was like 'Really?' So I'm trying to see how long I can put off having to wear it." She turns to Robin. "Now stop avoiding the question!"

He glares at her. "Yes, okay? Now can you tell me who's here?"

"Well you're no fun," she jokes. "Um, Hal's with JLA so Kyle and John came for Lantern Corps, there's some guys from Legion, I think, independents are, um, Babs, Dinah…"

"Is the League in?"

Her face softens. "He's upstairs. He didn't bring Jason."

Robin nods. "Do you want me to tell him you're here?" PJ asks gently.

He shakes his head. "I should do it. Thanks, though."

"Want me to bring your suitcase to our room for you?" I ask him.

"Actually, um, I was wondering if you'd mind coming with me?"

"Oh," I say. I don't know anyone would want me around for something like this, but if it helps him. "Sure."

"Anyway, gives you a chance to meet Barry."

"Shit," I say. "I forgot about that."

Robin smirks. "This might actually be a fun weekend."

* * *

I was expecting Batman to be imposing, but Bruce Wayne, as it turns out, is not an imposing man.

He's tall, but they're all tall. I'm starting to think it's a requirement for being in the League. And while he clearly works out, he doesn't look like a body-builder he way Superman does. He's slim in the face and a bit unkempt. Too normal-looking to be scary.

"So… Hi." Robin shakes his head, corrects himself. "Hello."

Batman just nods. "Robin."

Doesn't that confuse him? There's two of them now. What would he call them if they were both in the same room?

"So, uh, this is Batman," Robin says to me, with an unspecific gesture. "Bruce," he adds. "Bruce, this is…"

"Jinx," Batman interrupts, reading it off my nametag. "Wally's girl. Interesting choice." He's talking to Robin, not me. "I thought for sure you were going to bring the brunette."

Robin looks confused. "Donna?"

"No, the short one."

"Raven? She's not really a _brunette_, exactly…"

"I was sort of hoping to meet _your_ girlfriend, though."

"You'll get to. How's Alfred?" I don't even know who Alfred is and I can tell he's just trying to change the subject.

"Fine."

"And Jason?"

"Fine. How…" He stops, abruptly. "What did you do with your hair?"

Robin shrugs, weakly. He seemed so confident about it this morning. "Grew it out."

"It's a _ponytail_."

"Yeah."

"So are you ready for lecture tomorrow?"

Robin shrugs again. "Never done one before."

"You'll be good," Batman tells him. "And anyway, it's just the League. Nothing to be nervous about."

"Right. Nothing at all."

Oh my god.

He's not going to say anything. He's just going to let him find out tomorrow.

He really is brave.

"So do you know what you're doing for dinner?" Batman asks.

"You offering?"

"I guess. Your friend can come, if she wants." Geez, it's like I'm not even the room.

I hear the click of a door opening and closing. "Actually, I was hoping to borrow her?"

Oh, fuck no.

"Barry," Batman says. "Didn't hear you in the hallway."

"Well, you know us speedsters." The Flash. The fucking Flash. I can't do this. I have to do this but I can't do this. Fuck.

"PJ told me you guys just got in," he says. "I'd like to take you for dinner, if you don't mind."

Well, at least someone's acknowledging my presence. "Yeah, sure." I guess.

"Sounds great!"

"I'll see you later?" I say to Robin. He nods.

"Have fun." He's mocking me.

"You too," I sneer. He chuckles faintly, and they leave. Father and son, I guess.

As soon as the door closes, The Flash engulfed me in a hug. _Starfire_-style.

"I've heard so much about you!" he exclaims. "This is so exciting, I…"

"Are kind of hurting me?"

"Oh, sorry!" he says, laughing. "I'm just really glad to meet you." He sticks his hand out. "I'm The Flash. Call me Barry."

I shake it. "I'm Olivia. Call me Jinx."

He grins at that. "Cute and funny. My boy sure knows how to pick'em."

* * *

Where Batman seemed shockingly un-threatening, Barry Allen kind of reminds me of a giant teddy bear. He's tall and thin, with blonde hair and a slight southern accent. He has dimples when he smiles and his eyes are the same distinctive shade of blue Wally's.

He takes me to dinner at an Italian place that makes me feel underdressed. I try to order cheap, because frankly I don't know if I can afford this place, and even though I'm sure he'll insist on footing the bill, I feel kind of stupid about it.

He asks me the typical stuff- the where I've beens and what I've done theres- and it's all kind of uncomforable. I try, though. I really do fucking try. For Wally.

It's over dessert- chocolate cake and a cup of tea, at his insistence, I'm guessing Wally said something- when Barry finally brings him up.

"So how's he doing?" Barry asks. "With Lizzie's wedding coming up, I'd expect him to be a bit… Out of sorts, I guess."

"He's alright," I say, shrugging. "He's… Trying not to be upset about it."

Barry smiles. The sad kind. "That sounds like him." He taps his fork against his plate, not looking me in the eye for a second that feels like longer. "Promise me something?"

"Yeah."

"Don't let him get away with that."

* * *

"So how was meeting the parents?" Robin asks, smirking, as I walk through the door of our hotel room.

He's sitting on one of the beds with his laptop. I flop down on the other. "I dunno, how was dinner with your dad?"

"He's not my dad."

"He's pretty much your dad," I say. "It was good. Kind of awkward, but Barry seems nice."

"Yeah, I've always liked him." He types something, the clicking of the keys echoing through the room, before he finally answers my question. "It could have been worse. Mostly we didn't talk."

"Would it have been worse if you'd talked more or less?"

He ponders this. "Less."

My hands are restless. I reach into my suitcase and grab a notebook and a pen.

"So are you ready for your lecture?" I ask, trying to make it sound offhand.

"Yeah, I guess," he says. He is clearly trying to do the same thing.

"You want to, like, do a test run or something?"

He shakes his head. "I did it for Raven last night. Thanks, though."

"No problem."

I talk to him without looking up from my notebook. "Hey, can I ask you something."

"Go ahead."

"Do you know a good lawyer?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"For my… My sister. She wants to get to emancipated."

"She's eleven, right?"

And dying. I'm guessing Wally told him. "Yeah."

"Where's she going to stay?"  
"We're working on that. That's why we need a lawyer."

He nods, and writes something on a scrap of paper. "Here's a few names," he says, handing it to me. "They're all based out of Gotham, but I'm sure they could help you find someone in…" He stops mid-sentence. "Are you drawing me?"

I feel kind of shifty-eyed. "Yes," I admit.

He doesn't say anything at first, just kind of stares at me blankly. Then he nods, like he's okay with this concept. "I knew the ponytail was a good choice."

I snicker. "Yeah. Star must love that her boyfriend spends longer on his hair then she does."

"I do not," he insists, smiling.

"I'm kidding," I reply. "I wouldn't draw you if I didn't think you looked good."

"Thanks."

I glance down at my page. It's not the only reason I'm drawing him. "That," I continue, slowly, "and… I think you're really brave."

He looks at me, his expression almost confused. Surprised, at least. I guess people don't think of me as sentimental. For good reason.

"Thank you," he says quietly. "Thank you."

* * *

It is, quite literally, a lecture hall. Huge screens at the front, rows of seats and humming fluorescent lights. I have not been in a room like this since the HIVE Acadamy sank underwater. Brings back bad memories, really.

Robin is setting up at the front of the room, with the help of PJ, who is laughing as she talks to him. She has no idea what's coming.

He looks up at me and I shoot him a thumbs-up. He raises his eyebrows and bobs his head. "Here goes", he mouths.

He boots up his presentation. "Apprentice:" reads the title, "a first-hand account of seventeen days as a supervillain's unwilling minion. By Richard Grayson, Robin I."

"You all know me, so I'll skip the introduction," Robin says. "And you all know what happened last year, so I guess I should just… Get to it. I, um, I just stuck with the facts for this, but… Well, even so, it's… I guess some of it might be a bit of a shock to most of you, so..." He straightens his tie and clears his throat. "I'm sorry. I meant to be more professional about this."

I know less of the story than probably anyone else here. I know Robin worked for Slade, at some point, but I don't know why or even one. It's funny how these things work out, I guess. Not only am I the second person he's telling the bloody details to, but the first time I'm hearing it is the bloody details.

"February 20, 2004. Jump City, California." he begins. "At approximately five in the morning, the supervillain known only as Slade hacked the Teen Titans West's mainframe computer, which allowed him to talk with us via live video. To this day, we do not know all of the mechanics that allowed him to do so. The message he relayed to us was that he had planted a chronoton detonator at undisclosed location in the city. By freeze-framing the video, we were able to discover that he was located at Pier 41 in the Shipping District. At the time, we believed he had mistakenly disclosed his whereabouts, thereby comprising his plans. In retrospect, we know this was not the case."

"While following this supposed lead, we were ambushed by a monster known as Cinderblock, whom Slade often uses as a pawn. At this point, I was separated from my teammates and approached by Slade himself. We fought, and I was unable to defeat him in combat."

The slide shows a diagram of red blood cells, labeled "Raven, healthy". "According to my team, I disappeared at approximately seven-forty-five that morning. At around eight-fifteen they found the detonator and discovered it was a fake. At about the same time, Slade revealed the same fact to me, as well as an additional piece of information: the detonator contained nanoscopic probes, released via a radioactive beam sent into the air when my teammates attempted to disarm the machine. The probes then attached themselves to their blood cells." He switches slides, to anothers diagram of more cells, with something metal attached to them. "Raven," it reads, "infected."

"At the push of a button," Robin continues, "he could kill them."

When he speaks, he seems cold and distant. It's like he flipped a switch- he is not the Robin I talked to yesterday, but the one that I know.

"He made me a deal. He wouldn't kill them if I would agree to work for him. I accepted, as it was the only way to protect my team. This began my fifteen day tenure as his apprentice. Apprentice was his term, and one that never fully explained to me. To this day, I do not know what his long-term plan was, though I assume that he had one."

"The first thing he did was give me a new costume, confiscating my old as well as my weapons, communicator, and any others items I had on me, with the exception of my glasses." he flips to a slide of it, which points out each component of the outfit. "I kept the costume, and have studied it thoroughly. It appears to be very simple, with no special features or materials. I was given no permanent weapons to go with it- he didn't want to offer me any means of escape."

"The following fifteen days consisted primarily of three components: Training, downtime, and torture. The training comprised the majority of the time, was not dissimilar to what I've done with Batman; combat, both armed and hand-to-hand, strategy building, stealth… He proved himself very skilled at his work, though I'm unable to list exactly what was taught, as it's difficult for me to quantify the lessons; they were more-or-less ongoing and often blurred together. Another aspect of the training involved him having me commit crimes; the list of crimes I committed under his instructions can be seen here. He started me small, theft, mostly, and occasionally he would have me fight his enemies. I believe he was trying to build my tolerance, and planned for me to commit more serious infractions in the future."

"Downtime was fairly infrequent. I was given at least one meal a day, and at least a few hours of sleep each night, though the exact amounts varied. Meals ranged from very minimal to extravagant- nothing but a single bowl of soup one day, a five course dinner the next. The complete meal schedule can be seen on the screen. When he was neither training nor actively torturing me, he would lock me in my bedroom. I'm unable to provide a photograph of the room, but I've included my rough approximation of it." He switches to a slide of a graph-paper drawing of a small rectangle- labeled "approximately 6 feet by 8"- with smaller shapes labeled things like "bed" and "end table." "The room," he continues "was very small, had no windows and could only be locked or unlocked from the outside- again, providing no easy method of escape. There are three times that I suspect I was alone in his headquarters- I believe he had left to do business- though I can't be certain."

"The torture was, I believe, intended to make me compliant, though I wonder if it was also simply because he enjoyed doing it. It included psychical, psychological, and sexual abuse. I was subject to regular and unpredictable beatings, rapes, and other forms of sadism. In addition, his attempts to manipulate my psychological state were near omnipresent in his interactions with me."

Robin says this near dead-pan. It's a clinical account, no gory details. Just the facts, none of the emotional impact. He's a very good actor.

"On March 8, 2004, at approximately…" As he talks about his rescue, I can't help but glance over and look at the rest of the audience. Most of them look a bit shaken up. PJ is crying.

Batman is serious, business-like, no emotion.

Well. Like father like son indeed.

* * *

"So did he say anything?" I ask, on the plane ride home. "I mean, when you said goodbye to him?"

Robin shakes his head. "PJ got all teary-eyed on me," he says. "And Clark told me I'm an exceptional young man." He chuckles grimly. "But no, Bruce didn't say anything."

"I'm sure he will eventually," I say. Robin shrugs.

"It's not even the whole story," he admits. "I mean, I didn't _omit_ any events. But…"

"But you left out the emotion," I finish.

"Yeah."

"Supes is right, you know," I tell him. "You're a good man, Charlie Brown."

He genuinely smiles at that. "Yeah, well… Right back at ya."

I glance down at my shoes, embarrassed. "I guess you just have to tell your friends now, huh?" I ask, trying to turn the conversation off myself.

"Yeah," he says, with a nod. "Good thing I've already started."

_Who knew that the sky is now found to contain benzene and methane and chalk_  
_And bloody mud, muddy blood from the sky_  
_From the sickly-sweet wings of Edith's checkerspot butterfly?_

* * *

Author's notes

So I guess I've decided to finish this after all. I'm trying to get it down as quickly as I can so I can move on from it. It'll probably be slightly abridged from the original plan, because I might want to save some of the bits that I'm a little more interested in writing for a story I'm more invested in, but that just means more for the sequal, I guess. XD I was hoping to just post the whole rest of the story at once but after a while of writing it as fast as I could I sort of burned out and needed a breather, but I figured I should post what I have. Which is why you guys are getting three chapters at once hooray! XD After this is done I'll focus on _Trainspotting_ for a while, and start on the sequel for this as soon as I figure out where I'm going with it.

This has actually been on my computer for over a week now, and there's another reason I've delayed posting it. And that's… Well, if you've read this far you probably know. I'm really worried about posting this. Which is weird, because I've had extremely similar subject matter in _Trainspotting_ and it didn't worry me at all. But this one… I don't know. I went back and forth for days over whether I should post it or just omit this particular subplot (since really, it wouldn't affect the rest of the story if this chapter just wasn't here0

To explain why I did this, let me start by saying that I am one of those people for whom writing is essentially schizophrenia. The characters live in my head and they tell me what to do and sometimes it's not what I want to do but I do it anyway.

This is something I've known about Dick for a while now. I've been planning to tell his story, but haven't quite had the outlet to. Originally, I wasn't going to do it here, I was just going to hint at it, but for some reason, though, as I was writing this, Dick just decided he would no longer be ignored. He was going to tell his story _now_. He made me do this, guys. I can't explain it any better than that.

As noted in the chapter, this really isn't the full story. It's the bare facts, with most of the emotion and the consequences stripped away. What really makes Dick's presentation interesting to me is not what Dick says, but what he doesn't say. What he deliberately leaves out. He doesn't say that he still uses the techniques Slade taught him, or that even if he _had_ been given a way out, he wouldn't have been able to try. He doesn't talk about the nightmares or the phobias or the toll this has taken on his ability to form any sort of relationship or the scars he has no way of explaining. He can't admit to Batman that he has any sort of weaknesses, and that in itself is difficult for him. Bruce, after all, is supposed to be his _father_.

I'd like to tell the rest of Dick's story at some point. It could be a while before I'm able to, but I have a few ideas of how I'd like to do so. He's one of my favorite characters, and oddly enough, probably the single easiest character for me to write. His voice comes extremely naturally to me and he's quite dear to my heart.

This is, essentially, a side story. It's Dick's story, Jinx is just bearing witness to it. They have, I think, an interesting friendship. They are actually very very similar. Most specifically, they both see the world in shades of grey rather than black and white. Because they have seen both sides. They live in the grey area and the both know it.

Also, I totally know that Power Girl usually goes by Karen in the comics. I changed it mostly because Bumblebee is already named Karen and I didn't really want two Karens floating around, and also because everybody just calls her Peej anyway (or at least in scans_daily they do). XD I included her in this chapter mostly because I like her, but also because, well... Does anyone know the _Angel_ episode "Lullaby"? Accourding to the DVD commentary for it, the reason Joss Whedon had Fred present for Connor's birth was because it wouldn't have made sense for Angel or Darla to cry. Fred, though, she could cry. I needed Peej to be Fred.

Writing Dick's actual presentation was kind of hard too, but for a differant reason. It was one of those cases where I was relaying a story that Jinx doesn't know but the readers do, and I had to be careful not to make it seem tedious. Hopefully it came out interesting.

So yeah. I really hope I didn't disturb anyone, as I'm sure I've got a tendency to do. XD

On a completely different note: I really want to thank everyone who sent me a message after my last author's note. I know I said I'd respond to things individually, but then I didn't get around to and I'm really sorry about that. So I want to take this space to thanks to each and every one of you. I'm not normally a sentimental person, but… All of your kind words nearly made me cry. I don't have a lot of friends in real life so it really means a lot to me to know how much you all care about and support me. I love you guys!

Title and lyrics from "A Retinue of Moons" by Rasputina. This chapter was, incidentally, very, very difficult to title. I'm not sure I can explain the one I ended up with. It makes sense to me, I guess.


	9. Conspiracy

Conspiracy

"Hey, guys, I'm…"

I stop when I see that Wally, Toni, Sean and Jericho are crowded around the counter.

Jericho. Out of his room.

Clearly we have a problem.

"Murder number five," Toni explains, without me having to ask. "Not counting the Jump City girl."

I nod. "I brought key lime pie from Florida. Fair trade?"

Wally laugh. "How'd it go?"

"I met your uncle," I say, perching on the edge of his seat. There are other empty seats, but, well, I haven't touched him in two whole days.

He slips an arm around my waist. "I know. He called me. He says you're lovely."

I scoff. "He clearly doesn't know me that well." I give Wally a quick kiss on the lips before turning my attention to the others.

"So, we have an ID?" I ask.

Sean presents me with a piece of paper and five numbered photographs. "On all five," he explains.

I read the names 1. Sophie Rochester 2. Winifred Everett 3. Eva Goldberg 4. Irina Holden 5. Elise Rochester. "Two Rochesters?"

"They were twins," Sean explains.

"Yeesh," I murmur. Now that I look closely, numbers 1 and 5 do bear an uncanny resemblance, though they are clearly two different corpses- one, after all, no longer has a left arm. "Any other connections between them?"

"Just that they're all white females between the ages of seven and eleven," Sean says. He winces.

"You all right, man?" Wally asks. Sean nods.

"My kid sister's ten," he says. "They teach you not to think about stuff like that at the police academy, but I just can't help it."

"I know what you mean. I have three sisters," Wally tells him. "They're older than me, but..."

And I have two, one of them _is_ dying and yet I still don't understand. Well go fucking figure.

"So we have any more leads?" I ask.

Sean shakes his head. "Just the one witness."

"Who will _be here any minute_," Toni says, giving him a condemning.

"What?" I ask. "I thought we told you we didn't trust him."

"We're all but off this case, Jinx," Sean grumbles. "If we don't come up with something fast, we're…"

Jericho interrupts him by banging the counter and signing something, frantically.

Well, that's out of character.

"He asked if we're working outside the law now," Toni translate. "And, um… I'm sorry, I don't know that sign." Jericho waves a hand, as if to signal "nevermind".

"We are?" I ask. "Cool."

"Jinx, I thought you were done with crime" Wally says. He's smiling.

"I am. Most of the time."

"Oh, yeah? When aren't you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"Guys!" Toni exclaims. "Can you not make me inexplixably jealous of your relationship for seconds?"

"And we're not working outside the law. Well, not really.," Sean answers, sounding frustrated. "Things with my boss and I are complicated." He looks at Toni. "I didn't know you spoke sign language," he asks, clearly impressed." She beams.

"Oh, my little cousins deaf, so I learned it growing up," she explains. "Well, we do NZSL in Zealand, but I liked learning it, so I took lessons on ASL too, since I came here a lot."

I roll my eyes at Wally. "She has a _boyfriend_."

He holds a hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh. "Not for long, she doesn't."

"Or she'll have two…"

"Hey, I heared that!" Toni snaps. "And its not true!"

"What's not true," Sean asks.

I snicker. "Clearly, Toni he was too enraptured by your beauty to hear what was being said two feet away from…"

"Stop that!" she object. She turns to Sean. "Nothing. Don't listen to them."

After a few seconds Wally and I manage to stop laughing. "So where's Donna?" I ask.

"Dropping Rosie off at my sister's place," Wally explains. "We didn't want anything to scare her ."

The doorbell rings. "I'll get it," I say, starting to stand up.

"I'll come with," Wally says. Toni shoots us a glare.

"I don't like this guy either, but we can't leave him standing there for an hour while you two make out," she says. Wally cracks up again.

"And I would have gotten away with it, too," he jokes, "if it weren't for you meddling fashionista!"

Toni giggles. "_I'll_ get it." She gets up and heads for the elevator to the entryway.

"So should we make out anyway?" Wally asks me.

"With all these people watching? Tempting," I say sarcastically. He laughs.

"Later,then?"

"Oh, yeah."

When the elevator opens again, Toni and Sid come out. "Sid, you know Jinx and Officer O'Mallwy," she says. "This is Jericho and Kid Flash. Guys, this is Sidney Hale, our witness."

I lean over to Sean. "How hard can I go on him?" I whisper.

"We should probably try to keep it casual until we're cleared to use the police base."

"Gotcha." I nod at Sid. "So, have you heard about the fifth murder yet?"

"That's casual?"

"For her it is," Wally says.

"We're working on my manners," I add.

Wally laughs. "Nice to meet you," he tells Sid.

Sid gives us a nervous smile, and sits down in the chair Toni points him towards. "Yeah, I saw it in the news. Sad."

"Were you working that day?" Sean asks. "At the same restaurant as before?"

He nods.

"What restaurant?" Wally asks. "Just curious."

"Luigi's," he answers. "It's an Italian place in…"

"Bridgeport," Wally finishes. "Yeah, I know it. They have good pizza."

"I guess."

"Were any of the girls ever costumers there?" Toni asks. Sid shrugs.

"I don't think so. I mean, I don't remember ever having seen them but a lot of people eat there so…"

"Anyway, um," he continues. "No, I don't think I knew any if them. I'm sorry. I know you're hoping I have more information for you…"

Well, we are. But saying that wouldn't be casual. Damn police protocol.

Either way, he's interrupted by the door opening again. It's Donna. "Hi, guys, I'm… Oh, hi Sid."

I raise an eyebrow. "You know him?"

Donna giggles nervously. "Yeah, um… I was doing some work at the station the other day, and he was there and, well, we kind of… Hit it off?"

Wally makes a sputtering noise. "You what?"

She flushes a deep pink. "Yeah, um… We went out, and we were gonna go again today and…"

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

She shrugs. "It never came up."

"I, uh, I promise I'm not going to hurt your friend or anything," Sid offers, weakly. Wally looks at him, baffled, then turns to Sean. "Can she do that?" he asks. "Legally?"

Sean appears equally baffled. "I _guess_."

"Doesn't it give her a conflict of interest?" I ask.

"Probably," Sean answers. "I mean, maybe if she takes herself the case?"

Donna smiles weakly. "Oh. Well, um… Is that okay? You guys have enough people working this, right?"

I glance at Wally, who shrugs at me. Toni is trying not to snicker and Jericho is just staring at Donna, bug-eyed. "I… Guess I'll ask Robin," I suggest. Sure, why not?

"Great," Donna says, with a relieved exhale. "So do you guys mind if we…"

Ah. Their date is scheduled for _now_. "We done with him?" I whisper.

"I guess," Wally says. "We're not really getting anywhere with him."

"I'm fine with it if you two are," Sean adds.

Well, then. "You guys have fun," I tell Donna. She gives another nervous giggle before she and Sid leaves. They even fucking hold hands.

Toni explodes with laughter as soon as the door closes. "My god, she really is desperate!" she exclaims breathlessly.

"Quite the rebound," I comment.

"He's not even cute!"

Wally tilts his head to one side. "Why didn't she tell me?" he asks, sounding dejected.

I lean my head on his shoulder. "You want pie, baby?"

He sniffs. "Yes please."

Once everyone has been served pie and tea, we turn back to the files. "So was the one in murder in Jump like a response or something?" I suggest. "Like, Slade letting this guy know he has his attention?"

"Probably," Toni says. "Best guess we've got."

"But why? What's he trying to tell him?"

"I keep feeling like I must be missing some really obvious message," Wally says. "I mean, I've anagrammed the names, looked up the meanings, translated those meanings into other languages…"

"Maybe the pattern's not linguistic," I suggest. "What about the thing with him working his way somewhere?"

Sean shakes his head. "He circled backwards with this one."

Damn. "Numeric, then?"

"Well, they are all about the same age," Toni comments.

"Maybe it's the addresses," Wally suggests. "Or birthdays? Taylor might be able to spot a pattern."

"Maybe we oughta run 'em by Cyborg, too?" I ask.

"And the station," Sean adds. "Whatever it is, _somebody_ must be able to find it."

"I just keep coming back to the eyes," Toni says. "What's the point of that?"

"Well, Slade only has one," I note.

"So it's just to get his attention?"

There is a clanking sound. I look over to see that Jericho has dropped his fork on his plate, a bit of pie still on it. He stares forward as if in shock.

"Something wrong, darling?" Toni asks cautiously. He inhales sharply and snaps his head towards her, then shakes it frantically, signing something. "He says he just dozed out for a second," she translates.

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. I'm not sure if I should believe that.

I mean, he hasn't given me a reason not to trust him.

Hasn't given me a reason _to_ trust him either.

* * *

Wally and I sneak off to his bedroom as soon as we can. "I missed you so much," he murmurs, kissing me passionately, his hands at my hips.

I pull him onto his bed and sit on his lap so I can fold my arms around his neck without without having to stand on my toes. "I missed you too."

He kisses me again, and we spend a good five minutes with our tongues in each other's mouths before either of us bothers to talk again.

"So how was the conference?" he asks, when we finally manage to stop kissing. I flop back onto his bed and he lies down next to me, propping his head up with one hand and gripping mine with the other.

"Fine," I say. "Boring." It's not my business to say anything Robin- I respect him too much to breach his privacy like that. But I kind of wish I could say something, because I wonder if Wally would be able to help him better than I can. "How was your weekend?"

"Boring," he agrees. "I got to talk to my mom."

"About the wedding?"

"Yeah," he replies. "She doesn't want you to come."

"What? Why?"

He pouts. "She said it's a family thing and since Taylor isn't bringing a date I shouldn't and Mel doesn't count 'cause she's married, and I'm a minor, blah-blah-blah... Which probably means my dad saw you in a magazine and said something about your makeup." He rolls his eyes. "They can be kind of conservative." He thinks for a second. "Also passive-aggressive."

"Isn't it Elizabeth's decision?"

"You would think so," he sighs. "I'll talk to her, but I'm pretty sure my mom has the final word on most of this wedding."He grins deviously. "I'm thinking when we're ready to get married, we should just elope."

"Fantasizing about the wedding night already, are you?" I say slyly. He laughs.

"Well, you know, teenage boys, only one thing on their minds," he jokes, putting on a voice that sounds vaguely like Donna.

I laugh. "So Robin gave me some names of lawyers for Audrey."

"She's gonna go through with that?" he asks.

I shrug. "I guess."

"I mean, at least the parents are _trying_, right?"

"I don't know," I admit. "She doesn't really talk about them, other than that she wants to get away from them, and I don't know how much she talks _to_ them. I think it's all filtering through Hannah at this point."

"You thought about meeting them?" he asks. "I mean, they are your…"

"They're not my parents!" I snap, sitting up. "As far I'm concerned, they're fucking sperm and egg donors."

He pulls me back down and wraps me into a hug. "I know, I'm not saying you have to like them. I'm just saying, it might be good for you to… I mean, I know if my parents reached out to me I'd…"

"But they're not reaching out to me," I protest. "And I'm going to initiate something with the people who…" I sigh. I don't even know how to finish that. "They left her there, Wally. What kind of people do something like that twice?"

"Yeah…" He starts playing with my hair absentmindedly. "But don't you ever wonder?"

"All the time," I admit. "I mean, in some alternate reality, I…"

"Would have been Olivia?"

"Yeah. And, I mean, what then? Would I be some completely different person?" I bite my lip. "Would I have even met you?"

He shrugs. "I guess I'm glad I don't have to find out."

"I just," I continue, "I don't get this whole 'family' thing. I have _you_. I don't need anybody else."

He grins. "Well, I am pretty damn fine."

I roll my eyes. "Oh, honestly, must you insist on…" I look him in the eye and suddenly I can't even tease him anymore. "I love you."

He kisses me again. "I love you too."

* * *

Audrey has taken to calling me at the same time every afternoon. I even have a special ringtone for her- some Britney Spears song, she picked it out. I guess I should be glad that she seems to like me but I don't know. It just feels like a lot of pressure.

So when she calls me the next day, I expect it.

What I don't expect is to hear her crying.

"Hannah found out," she says, though I can barely make it out through her tears. "I um, I just… Can you come here tomorrow?"

"Yeah," I say.

"I need to get away from them," she sobs. I wish I could tell her otherwise.

_Please speak softly, for they will hear us  
And they'll find out why we don't trust them  
Speak up dear cause I cannot hear you  
I need to know why we don't trust them_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Um, I have nothing to say about this chapter. It's pretty much filler: I needed to hit a few last beats before things could actually start happening.

Have I mentioned I don't think this is a very good story? XD

Title and lyrics from "Conspiracy" by Paramore.


	10. The Leaving Song, Pt II

The Leaving Song, Pt. II

Wally drops me off at the hospital the next day. "So do you know what happened?"

I shake my head. "Just that Hannah found her text messages to me."

He grimaces. "She tell the parents?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe she _should_."

I stop dead in my tracks. "What?"

"I just… I don't know. They're her parents. Sure, they… They messed up big time, but maybe she should try to make it work with them before you…"

"Before _I_ what?" I snap. "Are you _accusing_ me of something?"

"No!" he exclaims. "But…"

"I'm not just gonna stand there and watch them ruin someone else's life the way they ruined mine!"

"You haven't even met them!" he argues. He sounds legitimately angry now, rather than just defensive. "Jinx, my parents are busy trying to uninvited me from my sister's wedding so I'm sorry if I don't think that it's such a good idea for you to be driving a wrench into someone else's family!"

"Oh, is that what this what is about?" I demand. "How you're the fucking good son because you don't cut ties from your damn-near-abusive father?"

"Well maybe you should at least _try_!"

"Try?" I sneer. "God, Wally, somehow you have gotten it into head that I am some kind of wonderful fucking person! Well, _newsflash_, I'm _not_. I am _fucked up_, is what I am, and I don't know how to do the goddamn fucking "right thing" all the time. I'm a _criminal_, remember?"

"Oh, believe me, I _know_ that," he growls. His face immediately washes over with guilt. He starts talking a mile a minute. "Ohgodthat, thatdidn'tcomeouthowI, howIwanteditto I don't Ididn'tmeanthat…"

"Whatever," I interrupt. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go run damage control for a fatally ill eleven-year-old."  
He looks at me, mouth open, but I don't give him a chance to say anything. I just walk into Audrey's room and slam the door.

* * *

Audrey looks at me smugly as I enter the room. "I heard that," she says. She started chemo maybe a week ago and her hair is starting to fall out. It's also almost entirely pink these days. I'm not sure which upsets her more.

"So?" I snap, pulling a chair up to the side of her bed.

"So I dunno,' she retorts. "He's your boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah"

"You think he still is?"

"Oh, fuck off, Audrey," I snap.

"So that's a no?"

"No!" I exclaim. "It's a… Seriously? I'm not in the mood for this. I thought you want you wanted to talk about Hannah."

She sighs. She sounds exhausted. "She yelled at me. _Hannah_. _Yelled_. Can you believe that?

"Audrey, in the… month or so that I've known your sister, we've had all of two conversations. How should I know if that's unusual?" Granted, it doesn't fit my perception of her at all. But whatever.

"Well, it is," she huffs. "She never raises her voice, like, ever."

"Some lawyer she's gonna make," I murmur. Audrey laughs dryly.

"Well, she'll be fucking amazing at it if she learns to yell more often," she says. "You heared her going at me at last night. Fucking insane."

I smirk, trying to imagine Hannah as someone who could be described as "fucking insane". "I still don't believed you learned all those words from your parents." I ask.

Audrey shrugs. "Well them and music videos."

I laugh. "Of course you did. God, kid, you need a hobby."

"I used to dance," she tells me. "Can't since… Well, they didn't have dance at St. Claire's."

I'm way too upset to think about _that_. "So…" I begin, a tentative attempt to change the subject. "What'd she say?"

"That I'm an ungrateful little bitch and that if I get emancipated, they won't have to pay for my medical care and I can fuck off and die because I don't deserve for them too."

"_Hannah_ said that?"

"Well, minus the naughty words. But that was the gist of it."

I tap my the toe of my boot against the floor. "You still want to do it?"

"More than ever."

"When was the last time you talked to them, anyway?"

"Um…" She counts on her fingers. "Last… Tuesday. They asked if thev chemo was working. And I'm like, how am I supposed to know, you should to Dr. Harrison. And then they talked to her about it, I guess."

I reach into my pocket and take out the names Robin gave. "My, uh…" My boss? No. Not anymore. "My friend gave me some names. So, I guess we should start by calling them, and…"

The door swings open. "Audrey, I…"

Hannah.

She doesn't finish her sentence. Instead, she glares at me, with the coldest eyes I have ever seen.

"You."

I stand up. "I'll just go then."

She blocks me from the door with her foot. "_Don't_."

I press my lips together. "Okay."

"Were planning on telling me that you're trying to _corrupt_ our sister?"

"I wasn't trying to _corrupt_ anyone. She asked me for help."

"Well she doesn't need your help."

"Have you... Told your parents?" I ask.

"Not yet. I wanted to talk to _you_ first."

I glance at Audrey, who is looking on, tears in her. I've never seen her cry before.

"Maybe we should take this outside," I suggest.

"No, I think Audrey should hear this."

I exhale sharply. "Really, Hannah, you don't want to mess with me right now."

"Oh, I think I do," Hannah seethes, "you little _bitch_."

Well, that's it.

"Okay, fine," I say, through gritted teeth. "You wanna a fight? You got one. Because, yeah, I am a bitch, but you? You're the one who turned a blind eye to every fucking _abuse_ your parents commited over the last sixteen years! You're an enabler, Hannah. A weak-willed, spineless little loser who's too busy crying to mommy and daddy to see when other people fucking need you!"

"I was six years old!" she exclaims.

"I had a criminal record at six," I snap. "And this isn't about me. You're not _my_ sister. This is about Audrey. You're _twenty-two_ now, Hannah. What's your excuse this time?"

"Olivia-"

"My name is _Jinx_!" I shout.

I slam the door again on my way out.

* * *

Wally tries to talk to me when we get home, but I'm not interested. We ride up the elevator in silence.

Rosie is sitting at the counter with a box of crayons. "Hey!" she says brightly. "What's…"

Her face falls as soon as she looks at us. "Did you two break up?" she squeaks. She closer to tears than I am.

"No," we say, in unison. Wally sits next to her and looks at me, eyes wide and brows knotted. I fold my arms and lean against the wall. I'm not in the mood for concern.

"We just got in a fight, is all," he tells her.

Rosie looks from Wally to her crayon to me and then back to Wally. "What about?"

"Just…" he starts, an aimless word that hangs in the air like fog. He's still giving me puppy dog eyes.

"Just about how much of a terrible person I am."

"That's not-"

"Oh, don't deny it."

He looks hurt. "Can you please just stop antagonizing me?" He stands up, shaking his head as he starts towards his room. "Christ, Jinx, we both get enough of it, we don't need to…" He doesn't finish.

He bolts off, in tears.

Oh great, now I made him cry.

Rosie is staring at me, her visible eye enourmous and brimming with tears. Shit, not her too.

The phone goes. What lovely fucking timing. I check the caller ID. It's police department. Fuck. That means I have to take this.

"Rosie," I say, tilting my head towards the door.

She looks at me funny. "Why do I have to go?"

"Because I have to talk shop."

"So?"

"So, you're not supposed to listen to this stuff," I remind her, trying not to get impatient.

"Lorena gets to!"

"Lorena's a trainee"

She puts a hand on her hip. "And I'm not?"

"No, you're not!" I say, sounding much angrier than I intend to. I try to cool down. "Lorena has powers, okay?"

"But I'm like _you_!" she shouts. Great. Now _she's_ angry. "I have a record, you know!"

"Yeah, well you're also _nine_."

"And three-quarters," she exclaims, as if this makes a difference.

I slam the phone into the receiver. If it's important they can damn well call back.

"Oh my fucking god, why is everyone so mad at me today?" I snap. I try to throw open the door before I remember that its automatic and it slaps my hand as it opens. "I can't do this now, okay?" I'm not sure if she's even listening anymore.

By the time I reach my room I'm crying. Damn it. Damn it, what is wrong with me? Wally's right. I am antagonizing everybody.

God, I'm such a fucking terrible person.

My hand is throbbing. It feels kind of good.

I keep a pocket knife in the drawer of my nightstand. Just in case. I sit down on my bed and I pick it up and I stare at it.

Well.

I haven't done _this_ in a while.

_Don't waste your touch, you won't feel anything  
Or were you sent to save me?  
I've thought too much, you won't find anything...  
Worthy of redeeming_

_To... break down, and cease all feeling  
Burn now, what once was breathing  
Reach out, and you may take my heart away_

* * *

Author's notes:

I kind of like this chapter. For a chapter from this story, anyway. I um… Still don't have much to say about it though.

I wasn't sure whether to have Jinx and Wally get in a fight. I'd been playing around with it and eventually decided it work, but I was careful about how I did it. I'm not interested in them fighting for cheap drama and I didn't want it to seem that way. But it ended up being something that came out of the characters, so I was okay with it. I don't see these two as being the type of couple that fights that often, but when they do, they know how to hurt each other. Don't worry too much though, guys- this'll last like a chapter, two at most. I like seeing them be cute and fluffy just as much as you guys do. -sweatdrop-

About the ending... This is another thing I really, really went back and forth about including. But... I'm not including it for angst and drama. It's just something that's a part of Jinx's character to me. And, really, at the end of the day, all I'm interested in writing about is people.

Title and lyrics from "The Leaving Song pt. II" by AFI. Why yes, I have been planning that since chapter 4. Why do you ask? XD


	11. Fall To Pieces

Fall To Pieces

The next few days are… Quiet. Everyone, it seems, is fucking pissed at me.

Well that's alright. I'm fucking pissed at me too.

I have not cried about any of this. Maybe I should. But I've just been… Numb. Which I guess is why I've been hurting myself. It's nice to feel _something_.

The last day or so I've pretty much taken up residence at a coffee shop. It's well on the other side of town from the one we usually go to, but I still can't escape being recognized- it's times like these when I really resent my hair. It's started raining, but I don't mind it. I guess I like it dreary.

"Can I get a name on that?" the guy at the counter asks me.

Well, that's a new one.

The other servers all knew who I was right away. They seem to have changed shifts between cup of tea number two and cup of tea number three.

"It's…" I think about making something up, a fake name. But I guess my name's already fake, isn't it?

"It's Jinx."

The guy rolls his eyes. "Geez, you emos and your stupid-ass names of darkness…" he mutters under his breath.

What a douche. I don't have the energy for this. "Fuck you," I say. I turn around and start towards the door.

"Well, I don't do freaks, normally, but I guess you're kind of hot," I hear him say

Okay. That's it.

I snap my fingers and the coffee maker explodes, covering him in brown dust, and leave without another word.

Great. Now I need a new coffee place.

I didn't bring an umbrella. The rain is going to ruin my dress. I should probably suck it up and go home. I can always just hide in my room.

Damn it, why can't I just apologize?

I find an empty bench, slump down on it and bury my face in my hands. Does it count as crying if my face is already wet? If anybody asks, it was the rain that ruined my mascara.

_Damn it_.

I _know_ I messed up. Doesn't mean Wally didn't, but he_ tried_ to apologize. I just didn't let him. I know I owe him a huge apology. So why can't I do it? Why am I avoiding him?

I've heard that people who are used to being let down will subconsciously sabotage their relationships to stop themselves from getting hurt again. So I guess there's that, and I guess it hurts less if I'm the one who's doing it.

I hate myself. I hate myself so much sometimes.

My phone starts blaring that stupid pop song. God, what does she what now? I can't do this.

"Audrey, hey," I say, trying to sound chipper. My throat feels constricted. "What's up?"

"I called some of the lawyers," she tells me. She's quieter than usual. "One of them thinks I have a case. You don't have to help or anything, I just… I thought you should know."

"Oh, um… Thanks," I say. "That… That's really great." No matter how much of a mess this'll probably turn into, no matter how much of that mess I caused… I just can't deny that she deserves this. She's got a case alright, a damn good one. She deserves someone to help her fight it.

"I don't know how to say this, but…, " she stammers. "If it weren't for…" She sighs. "Jinx, the only people who have actually tried to help me are Dr. Harrison and… And you and your boyfriend, so…"

I stop her. "Audrey you don't have to thank me." After all, I'm really just being vengeful.

She doesn't say anything right away. "He stopped by, you know."

"Who st… Wally? When?"

"This morning. He wanted to make sure I was okay."

"Oh."

"Are you still fighting?"

This time I don't answer right away. "Yeah."

She goes quiet again, and then, "Can I ask you something?"

Does she have to? "Shoot."

"If I live," she begins. The "if" is the point there. "What's it gonna be like?"  
"What do you mean?"

"I mean having powers."

"Oh." I sigh. The rain is soaking me to the bone. I feel weighted down. "I don't know, Audrey. It's different for everyone."

"What's it like for you then?"

Well, what does she want to know? I could spend hours explaining the nitty-gritty details of how this has affected my life. I have. To Wally. "It's hard," I say.

"How?"

"I…" Where do I even start? "How much do you know about what "probability manipulation" really means?" I ask.

"Not much," she admits. "We're bad luck, right?"

"In any situation there is statistical value assigned to the possibility that something will go wrong," I explain. "We make those numbers higher."

"So bad things are more likely to happen," she adds.

"Exactly," I say. "There's probably like a mathematical formula or something."

She chuckles. "Probably. So why's… Why's it so hard?"

"Well, there's two ways powers can work," I start. "Either the default is off and it takes energy to use them, or… Or the default is on. And it takes energy to _control_ them. I'm the second type."

"So that's why stuff just happens around me?" she asks, with something that like a hiccup somewhere in the middle. That probably means she's crying, doesn't it? "Like, like, is that why my puppy died? And why Sarah from dance got hurt? And why I got sick? "

God, she really is, just a kid. "I don't know. Maybe." Well, that's a lie. "Yeah."

"Is that why you were bad?"

I guess I should have figured she'd ask me that eventually, what with her kicking me out that first day over it. "Yeah. It is."

"So why…" she sobs. "Why did you stop?"

"Stop… Being a villain?"

She sniffs. "Yeah."

I sigh. I really have to answer that, don't I? The rain falls. It was raining the night I left the HIVE too. "Because… Because of Wally, I guess. Not that… Not that I made a life-changing decision just because of a guy, or, or anything like that, but…"

I'm not good at explaining this. I get the feeling sometimes that people think I'm just a stupid, boy-crazy teenager who changes herself to get a guy. That's not what happened. Not even close.

"I really, firmly believed that I was just some kind of terrible person and that here was nothing I could do to change that," I say. Still do, a lot of the time, but she doesn't need to hear that. "And nobody had ever told me otherwise. And then, then I met him. And all of a sudden somebody saw me as something other than bad, and… And I just thought that… That if _he_ thinks that there's good in me, then… Then maybe it's true."

"I never liked being a villain," I continue. "And it just… I know I'd always had a choice. I just wasn't brave enough to take it. It turned out that all I'd ever needed to be that brave was for someone to believe in me."

She doesn't say anything. So I do.

"Being bad luck sucks, Audrey. But you don't have to let it define you."

"That's pretty much what he said," she tells me. "You know you need to talk to him, right?"

Of course that's what he said. He taught it to me, after all. "Yeah."

"Thanks, by the way."

"Yeah, well… Don't sweat it."

* * *

I'm dripping wet and shivering by the time I get home. Wally is, conveniently, sitting at the kitchen counter with his computer.

God, he is so handsome. My brain always seems to remind me of this at completely inappropriate moments. That tousled red hair, tanned skin. Those incredible eyes. He's tall and thin, lanky even, but he's still got a bit of muscle from all the running. And he's got strong arms- I've always been of a sucker for good arms.

Even just the way he wears his clothes is hot. He's kind of a wild dresser, always mixing patterns and colors. Today it's neon yellow plaid pants and a purple sweatshirt. On most guys it would look stupid, but on him it just looks effortless. His wardrobe his just as brght as his personality.

And his smile. I feel like I haven't seen him smile in days. I miss his smile. I miss his stupid jokes and his crazy ideas and his off-key singing. I miss the way he always sees the best in everything and can turn anything into something worth smiling about and the way he makes me laugh. I miss how he's always there for everyone when they need someone to talk to. I miss the sweet taste of his lips and way he holds me when I cry.

I just miss _him_.

I really wish I knew how to apologize. Why can't I just fucking apologize?

He looks up at me as soon as I walk in the door, and his face immediately washes over wish worry. "You must be freezing."

"Got caught in the rain," I explain. "I'm okay."

"Your teeth are chattering."

"Yeah."

He looks at me for a moment, like he doesn't know what to say.

"You've got something on your sleeve."

I glance at it. Oh. I do. Apparently my pink and black sweatshirt wasn't a good choice for getting rained on. The material is thin and the sleeve has stuck to my skin, allowing a streak of deep red to soak through.

"Oh," I say. "Yeah."

He is by my side in an instant, my hand in his, his fingers at the edge of my sleeve. "Can I?"

I don't want to do this anymore. I just want to curl up in his arms and cry. "Okay," I say quietly. He bites his bottom lip as he begins to roll up my sleeve. It is heavy with water but puts up little resistance.

My arm is covered in red cuts, far too bright against the white of my skin. A few of them are still bleeding. My skin is the color of a porcelain doll's. I've always thought it would look disturbingly perfect without the scars.

Wally takes one look at the cuts and wraps me in his arms, faster than I can blink, and the tears start.

"I love you," he says. "I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you."

"I love you too," I say, through my tears. " And I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

"I'm sorry too," he whispers. I can feel his own tears fall on the top of my head. "I don't like fighting with you."

"Me either."

"Can we just never do it again?"  
"Don't you think that's a little unrealistic?"

"Maybe," he sniffs. "Yeah. But can it not go on this long again?"  
"Yeah," I say. "That sounds good." After that I can't really talk anymore, I just cry into his chest until it makes the shivering worse. He kisses me, and I feel warm.

* * *

After I've changed into something dry, Wally and I settle onto the couch. I lean my head on his chest, still shivering, and he drapes his sweatshirt over me like a blanket. I feel tired, all of a sudden. Just emotionally worn out, I guess.

"Oh, yeah, Audrey told me you visited her," I say, remembering it suddenly.

He grins sheepishly. "I was gonna tell you."

"That's really nice of you," I say.

He shrugs. "Just wanted to check on her."

He gently runs his fingers up and down my arm. "So how come…"

I sigh. "I don't know. It was that or I was gonna break shit."

He laughs. "Wanna see the hole I punched in my wall?"

He's so casual about it that I can't help but laugh too. "Well, that's still less destructive than what I did."  
"I just wish you could have talked to me," he says, serious again.

"Well, we were fighting," I say.

"True," he admits. "Were… Was it 'cause you were mad at yourself? Or at me?"

"Both," I say. "I was just… Feeling too much and not enough and… I'm sorry. I don't really know how to explain."

"That's okay. But you ever want to, I'm here for you.  
I smile. "Thank you."

"Promise me something?"  
I already know what he's going to ask. "I'll talk to you next time I'm thinking about it."

"Good," he declares. He starts playing with my hair. God, it's so nice to touch him again.

I let my eyes drift close. "I think I'm gonna fall asleep," I murmur.

He laughs. "Go ahead. I'll still be here when you wake up."

"Good," I say. I bend my legs and shift my head to rest it on his lap. "I love you," I whisper again, and I let myself drift off.

* * *

I am awoken by what sounds like glass breaking. Wally, who turned the TV on at some point after I fell asleep, jumps to his feet.

I sit up. "What the fuck was that?" I ask groggily. I'm still freezing, so I pull his sweatshirt on over my clothes.

"Came from the hallway," he comments.

"Like from someone's room?" I ask. "Is anyone else even here?"

"Haven't seen Donna or Jericho all day," he says. "Toni's home. And…" His eyes go wide and he dashes into the hallway without finishing his sentence.

I catch up with him in Rosie's room. As soon as I step through the door I am overwhelmed with the distinct scent of rotting flesh. The window is shattered and the floor is littered with glass,

Wally has his hand over his mouth. "What is that smell?"  
"Dead bodies," I answer.

He goes pale. "How do you know that?"  
"Went grave robbing once or twice," I say. I look around the room. "Fuck, where is that coming from?"

Wally points a shaky finger and something, a weird little mound half obscured by Rosie's dresser. "Um…" I look closer.

A severed foot.

Well, then.

I take a few steps towards it and kneel over it to examine it. It looks fresh, and seems to have come from a kid. The toenails are hot pink.

"It's not Rosie's, is it?" Wally asks.

I shake my head. "She d."

The door flies open. "Oh thank God I found you guys, we've got a bit-" Toni stops mid-sentence. "Is that what I think it is?"  
"It's a foot," I confirm. "Were any of the victims missing feet?"

Toni puts a hand against the wall, bends over, and pukes. Wally nearly appears next to her and holds back her hair.

"You okay?" he asks.

She nods weakly. "Just, um, feeling a bit sick." He helps her to Rosie's bed, and she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before saying, quietly. "Number six is."

I glance at the foot, then back at her. "What?"  
"There's been another murder," she says. "Body's missing a foot."

"I guess we just found it," I comment.

"They have an ID yet?" Wally asks.

Toni nods. "Sara O'Malley."

"O'Malley as in Sean?"

"His sister."

"Ohmygod," Wally says under his breath.

"He's on to us," I say.

"What?" Toni asks.

"The murderer," I explain. "Whoever he is knows we're investigating him. We must be on to _him_, if he's reacting this way."

"We're not on to anyone," Wally says.

"Sid, kind of," I comment.

Toni's eyes go wide. "Donna's out with him right now."

The smell of the foot is starting to get to me. I stand up and walk towards the other side of the room.

There's a trail of blood coming from the window.

I follow it with my eyes. It leads to under the bed. I kneel down and reach underneath the bed, half-expecting to pull up a corpse.

I don't. Instead I find Rosie's Kirsten doll. Someone has stabbed a knife in her left eye and coated her face in blood. For realism, I guess.

"Is that…" Toni begins.

"Blood, yeah."

Wally glances out the broken window. "Do you think its Rosie's?"  
I don't respond. It's a valid theory, that's for sure.

_You bring me back again  
Back under the stars  
Back into your arms_

* * *

Author's notes:

See, I told you that fight wouldn't last long! XD Um, the scene with them making up is easily my favorite from this story. It might actually rank pretty high in everything I've written, actually. I'm really happy with how that turned out. I think it's really romantic. I just love those two as a couple. Despite all of their flaws, (and they are both very flawed) when one of them needs help, they can just drop everything come through for each other I guess I just think that's kind of beautiful.

This is sort of the culmination of Audrey's personal character arc- at the beginning of the story she kicked Jinx out because she didn't want that negative image of what could happen to her. And here, she's finally beginning to come to terms with it. Not that she's happy about it, but she can accept it. And I think it's kind of sweet that she's the one who helps Jinx make up with Wally. They help each other out.

The ending, I dunno, it's a bit of a rapid mood change but I guess I had to introduce the climax of that plot somehow, and I'm also just trying to finish this story quickly. I think it came out alright. I like writing horror. Also, something weird about me: I get very upset when I see cruelty to stuffed animals in movies/books/whatever, and I could never write, say, a teddy bear getting hurt. But stabbing a doll in the face? So not a problem. XD Really, what does that say about me? XD

Title and lyrics from "Fall to Pieces" by Avril Lavigne. I love her, don't judge. XD For the record, while I think the title works in reference to both of the major plotlines in this chapter, the lyrics refer specifically to the Flinx cute stuff.


	12. A Modern Myth

A Modern Myth

"She won't pick up!" Toni says, near tears. She's pacing back and forth repeatedly trying both Donna's communicator and cell phone, to no avail. In the last hour we have not been able to reach either her or Jericho.

"Toni, give it up," I grumble. "She'll call when she gets your seventeen messages."

"You mean 'if' she gets them!" Toni exclaims. "If she's not already dead or-"

"I'm sure she's not dead," Wally reassures her. He's been moving around the kitchen, making tea and any sort of snack he can think of. He's trying very hard to be optimistic about this. "She's just busy, or maybe she already knows what's going on and she's working on it somewhere else."

"But she's on a date with a serial killer!" Toni shrieks.

"We don't know that," I remind her. I wish we did, but we just don't have the evidence.

The phone goes. From my seat, the counter, I'm closest to it, so I pick it up. "Yeah?"

"Titans North? This is Chief Hudson, from the Police Department," says the voice on the other end. Oh, _lovely_. He hates us.

"Hi, Chief," I say. "What's up?"  
"Other than the six young girls who have been murdered?" he growls. Of course. I make a "gag me" gesture at Wally, who laughs.

"So I take it you're calling to tell us O'Malley's off the case thanks to his conflict of interest?" I ask dryly.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm calling to tell you," he says. "So, if you five wouldn't mind getting out of my way…"

"Oh, you'd like us off the case, too?" I ask, fake sweetly. "Yeah, get real. I'd like to point you towards The Superheroics Acts of 1970; if there's a reasonable belief that a crime is related to supers-activity, then, for the protection of civilians, the police cannot insist that no superheroes are involved in the investigation, though the head of the Superheroics Council can dictate who, if anyone, is. You want us off? You take that up with _Superman_."

I hang up and slam the phone onto the receiver. Wally grins at me. "You have sarcasm for breakfast this morning, baby?"

I roll my eyes. "Extra strength. That guy's just such an _ass_."

He sets three cups of tea on the counter, then sits down next to me, feet on the counter. "You are so hot when you're snarky," he laughs. I take a sip of tea and lean my head on his shoulder, and he slips an arm around my waist.

Toni sits down as well and starts at her own tea, her brow knotted. She seems a lot more distraught than either of us- well, a lot more than me, a bit more than Wally. I can't say any of that's a surprise.

The phone goes again. I check the caller I.D. this time. "O'Malley". I'm guessing it's Sean's home number. I toss the phone to Toni. "It's for you."

"Hello?" She says. The word sounds like a squeak. "Yeah, we heard… Yeah, that, that too…" She falls silent, one hand pressed against her mouth. I guess he's saying something on the other side.

Rosie's doll is sitting on the counter. I probably shouldn't have taken it out of her room- "tampering with the crime-scene" or whatever- but it's not like it makes a difference, what with the way Hudson treats us. And, hey, at least that's the _only_ thing I moved.

I pick it up and turn it over in my hands. She's a pretty little doll, or she was before someone made it look like she was crying blood. I've always liked dolls. Even the creepy, too-human ones whose eyes follow you around the room. Especially them. I guess it's a sense of kinship.

I remember Rosie was all excited that they both blue eyes blondes. Well now there both one-eyed blondes, so I guess that worked out.

I sigh, setting the doll back down, and reach for my tea. Some of it sloshes onto Wally's sweatshirt, which I'm still wearing. The sweatshirt is baggy on him, so on me it is positively enormous. I'm wearing it like armor, or maybe just a security blanket.

Toni hangs the phone up and hands it back to me. "He's coming over," she says, matter-of-fact. "He wants to see the…"

"Right." I say. I put the phone down. It starts ringing again immediately after.

"Seriously? What is with this?" I pick it back up. "Angel _fucking_ Investigations, we help the _fucking_ helpless," I snap.

Wally cracks up and snatches the phone from me. "Titans North," he laughs.

"Dick, hey," he says, his face going serious. "Have you heard from… No, she hasn't called us either… Yeah… Okay. Sure, I'll be right there." He hangs up. "He wants to help out. I said. I'd go pick him up."

"Alright."

"Don't be too hard on any callers while I'm out," he teases.

I roll my eyes. "I won't."

He rushes off, a blur of color. Toni puts her head on the counter and starts to sob.

"You okay?" I ask.

"It's a foot!" she exclaims. "There's a foot in Rosie's bedroom and she and Donna are missing! Or course I'm not okay!"

And I am. Go figure. I reach over and pat her on the back. It feels awkward.

"We'll find them," I say. Optimism, as it turns out, feels awkward too.

Wally is back within minutes, with Robin with him, in costume. I thought seeing Robin in civilians was weird, but seeing him in that suit with that hair is far weirder.

Toni looks up at him and her jaw drops. "What did you do to your hair?"

"Grew it out," he answers. Toni's expression is one of pure horror.

"Well you can't wear _that_ with it!" she exclaims, furiously. "That's breaking so many rules of fashion!" A sketchbook- I'm not sure if it's mine, hers, or Jericho's- is on the counter and she grabs it, as if with a new lease on life. "I'm designing you a new one!"

Robin looks offended and touches his ponytail. "It's not that bad, is it?"

I shrug. "I like it."

Wally playfully tugs at one of my pigtails. "Whatever you say, Baby Spice," he teases.

I raise an eyebrow. "Baby Spice?"

"She wore pigtails," he says, confidently. "And anyway you're tiny and you're spicy. It's perfect."

"I only did my hair this way 'cause it was wet," I say, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, I didn't say I didn't like it," he says, in a low, flirtatious voice. "I think it's adorable. Way better than those horns you used to wear." With a smirk, he adds, "Baby Spice."

"I'm gonna get you for that one."

He leans his forehead against mine. "Yeah, how?" he asks. He kisses me.

I break the kiss just long enough to murmur, "Oh, I'll think of something,"

Robin clears his throat loudly, and we pull apart.

"Sorry," I say, sitting and straight and smoothing out my hair. Wally smiles sheepishly. We both know we shouldn't be doing this right now, but after so many days of fighting with him… I just can't help myself.

"So what do you guys know?" Robin asks, taking a seat. I hold up Rosie's doll.

"We found this. And a severed foot. That's it."

He fingers the knife stuck in Kirsten's eye. "Well, that's… Something, I guess."  
The door flies open. Donna rushes in, tears in her eyes.

"Omigod, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, I…"

Wally breathes a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God…" I reach up for one of his hands and interlace my fingers with his. He smiles at me.

"Donna, calm down," Robin says. "Anxiety won't solve anything."

"But I should have been here!" she exclaims, her voice high pitched. "If I'd been here then whatever happened to her... But I was too busy out on a date and then…"

"And then?" I ask. "You mean Sid wasn't with you just now?"

Donna shakes her head. "He had to go to work hours ago. I was at the library. That's why my phone wasn't on, I…" She sits down and starts crying,.

Wally is suddenly very jittery. "Hey, Silver, can I borrow that notebook?"

Toni looks up from her sketch. "Sure, just… Just a second…" she moves her pencil rapidly. She, I can tell, is trying to distract herself.

Toni puts her pencil down. "Alright, you can have this n-" As she starts to hand it to him, the pages flip away from her sketch. She looks at them, curiously. "God, Jinx, is this yours?"

"I don't think so, why…" I look at it over her shoulder. "Oh."

The drawing on the page the notebook has flipped over is a photo-realistic gory eyeball.

"That's not mine," I say.

We start to go through the notebook. It starts out tame- flowers, animals. Then after a few pages it gets… Twisted. There are drawings- diagrams, really- of body parts, and pages covered in words, some completely illegible. The ones that can be read say things like "why is he here?", "what does he want?" and, most memorably, a single page covered in nothing but the words "the eyes" over and over. Then there is a series of sketches that begins with a young girl, being approached by a shadowy figure. What follows appears to be a frame-by-frame depiction of murder number #5.

"Shit, this makes _my_ stuff look like fucking rainbows and butterflies," I murmur.

When we get to the image of the girl getting her eye stabbed out, Toni turns kind of green and closes the book. "I think I might throw up again," she murmurs, returning to her tea without another glance in the notebook's direction.

Wally grabs the notebook and pencil off the counter and opens to a blank page. He starts writing at mach-10, his hand a blur.

"So do you think its Jericho's?" I ask.

"Seems like the logical conclusion," Robin says. He's putting in his clinical voice. "It's not any of yours, and it couldn't be Rose's, could it?"

"Rosie," Donna corrects quietly. "She likes Rosie."

"It's definitely not her's," I answer. "She can't really draw." Unless she's hiding something. Well, more than the something I already figured she was hiding.

"So why…" Donna begins, her voice trembling. "Why would he be drawing this? Is… Is he involved with…" She clasps a hand over her mouth. She can't bring herself to finish.

"Is it too big a step to assume he's a murderer?" I ask. The question on everyone's mind, I guess. "I mean, is this enough evidence?"  
Robin runs a hand through his hair. "I think it's a bit of a leap on its own. He could just be really upset by it and trying to work through that. Has he done anything else suspicious?"

"I don't know, it's not like any of really talk to the guy," I groan. God, why didn't we think of this sooner?

"He didn't like the idea of working behind the law," Toni suggests. "But that's not suspicious, really."

"There was thing when Sid was here," I remember.

"What thing?" Donna asks.

I shrug. "I dunno, he just seemed weirded out by it."

Wally stops writing. "That's because he knew something we didn't," he says. He nearly slams the notebook back onto the counter. That can't be a good sign. "Remember the pattern we were looking for?"

On the page, he has written "SID HALE", all capitals, and the names of the six Chicago victims, including one Sara O'Malley. He's circled their first and last initials, then written them out side by side, also all capitals: "SRWEEGIHERSO".

Below that, he's written the phrase he's formed by rearranging those nineteen capitals letters. We've been thinking his anagram theory was a dead end for a while now. Turns out he was just a few letters short.

_HI SLADE._

_ROSE IS HERE. –GW_

Well, I guess now we _know_ that Donna was on a date with a serial killer.

* * *

Sean shows up eventually and disappears into Rosie's room. Toni quickly joins him. Donna has been sobbing nonstop and is virtually incoherent. This leaves Robin, Wally and me to try to figure this out.

"So after he left Donna he came here and…" I don't know. "Kidnapped Rosie? Talked her into leaving?"

"I was sitting here the whole time," Wally says. "How would he get in?"

"Through the broken window?" Robin suggests. I shake my head.

"We heard it break right before we went to her room. That's how he left, not how he got in."

"Well, did_ she_ let him in?"  
"I was sitting here the _whole time_!" Wally exclaims.

"No you weren't," I realize. "You came to my room while I was changing."

Robin looks baffled. "You mean to say that in the _five_ minutes it took you to go to your room, change your clothes, and come back here, Rosie came out of _her_ room, let this guy in, and then they went _back_ to her room, without either of you noticing?"

Wally grins guiltily. "It, uh, might have been more than five minutes."

Robin smacks himself on the forehead. "Of course it was."

"Oh, come on," I say, "if you and Starfire had just gotten over a fight, you would have made out for twenty minutes too."

Robin raises his eyebrows. "True."

I sigh. "I still don't get it, though," I say. I sink my head onto Wally's shoulder. "She's never met him. And, I mean, with _her_ social anxiety issue? She'd never let a stranger in."  
"Maybe he told her he was waiting for Donna," Wally suggests.

"Or maybe he wasn't a stranger," Robin says. His face has gone very, very pale.

Wally looks concern. "Dude, what… Are you okay?"  
"Damn it," Robin whispers, more to himself than to us. "Damn it to hell. I should have seen this coming _months ago_. I'm an idiot, a fucking idiot…"

"Dick," Wally interrupts. "_What's wrong_?"

"The eyes," Robin says. "This guy is taking them. He's also, apparently, trying to get a message about her to _Slade_. _Who only has one eye_."

"And so does she," I say.

"And whose fault," he says, through his teeth "do you think _that_ is?"

Donna suddenly looks up. "It's a prosthetic."

"What?" I ask.

"Sid's left eye," she says. "It's not real. He told me."

I knew his face looked off-kilter. "So, they're, what, working for him?" I ask.

Wally shakes his head. "Not them. Just him. The message, Slade doesn't know she's here."

"But then why…" I remember, suddenly, that the other day she was intent on reminding me how similar she and I are.

Oh. Oh I get it.

"She _was_ working for him," I say. "When we found her… We _rescued_ her from it. Now he wants her back."

"So she's another one of his victims," Robin says quietly.

The room goes quiet, save for Donna's sobbing, until suddenly, the door opens.

Jericho.

For a moment, it is very, very still.

Wally is, of course, the first to react. He jumps out of seat and, the next thing I know, has pinned Jericho to the wall.

"_What do you know_?"

"Wally," I snap. I walk over to him. I takes all of my strength to pull him off.

Wally lets out another breath and nods. "Sorry."

"Oh, don't be _sorry_," I say, glaring at Jericho. A lightbulb flashes pink and then dies out. "I want to know what he knows too. But if we beat him to unconsciousness _now_ we'll have to wait longer."

"Back off," Robin commands. "All of you." Reluctantly, Wally and I take our seats.

Jericho has, I assume, figured out what's going on, He takes a seat at the other side of the counter. I throw his sketchbook at him, letting pink flames briefly light it up and singe the edges.

"Start explaining."

He looks at me, biting his bottom lip, and then, picks up the pencil. He writes something, then holds the notebook up for us to see.

_His name is Grant Wilson. He's my older brother._

Explains the "GW". "And Rosie?"

_Our sister. Grant had something vaguely resembling custody after our mother died. I didn't realize what he was making her commit crimes. I would have put a stop to it if I'd known._

"What's up with the serial killer drawings?" I ask, threateningly..

_Just trying to get in his head. I'm sorry. I should have realized how they would look._

"So what does he want from her?" Wally asks. He has calmed down by now, and rather than angry, just seems unbearably worried.

_I think_, Jericho writes, _that he's trying to impress our father. He thinks that if he kills enough- kills her, maybe, or just gets her back on his side- our father will want him back._ He hesitates, before adding,_ He's a bit delusional._

Robin taps his fingers in the countertop. "And who's your father?"

Jericho gives him a long, hard look, and then writes a single word.

_Slade._

_Did we create a modern myth_  
_Did we imagine half of it_  
_What happened then, a thought for now_

_Save yourself_  
_Save yourself_  
_The secret is out_

* * *

Author's Notes:

Honestly? I think this chapter sucks. It's boring and slow and Wally and Jinx flirting in the face of danger is supposed to be funny but I don't think it worked out that way. I don't really have anything else to say about it. I thought about extending it to include the next chapter, which might have made it seem less… Filler-y and expository, I guess. But in the end I decided it would be way too long a chapter if I did, and I liked this as a cliffhanger- even though, really, I'm sure most of you already knew that Rose and Joey were Slade's kids. Though hopefully Sid being Grant (a character from the comics, for the record) was at least something of a shock?

So that's it. I'm sorry guys. I really am. The sequel will be way better, I promise.

Title and lyrics from "A Modern Myth" by 30 Seconds to Mars.


	13. Someone Speaks Softly

Someone Speaks Softly

"Your father," Robin says. All the blood has drained out of his face. "He's your father."

_Yes_, Jericho writes.

"Well, why didn't you say anything about that months ago?"

Jericho visibly hesitates. Whatever his excuse for that is, it won't be enough.

_My father…_

Robin stands up and slams a hand on the table. "_Your father_," he seethes, "is a _monster_. And if you knew anything about him you should have told me."

Wally is staring at him, eyebrows knotted. He is clutching onto my hand like a lifeline.

"My God, Dick, what did he do to you?"  
Robin looks at him, his face hard but his entire body trembling. And he reaches for the collar of his shirt and pulls it down, revealing the "S" carved into his chest.

"Anything he wanted to," he says, teeth barred. "I wasn't exactly in the position to say 'no'."

Wally's eyes go very, very wide. He catches on, just like he does everything else, quick.

"He _raped_ you." It's not a question.

Robin doesn't look at him. "Yeah."

"I could _kill_ him," Wally exclaims.

"No you couldn't," I say.

He doesn't protest. We both know it's true.

Donna has started crying again. "I made out with the son of a man who…" she sobs. "I feel dirty." Wally puts an arm around her, his other hand still gripping onto mine.

"I just…" he begins. "I didn't… Dude, why didn't you say anything?"  
Robin's expression is grim. "Not now, Wally."

Wally presses his lips together. "Okay."

"What do you know?" Robin asks again, furiously.

Jericho starts to write again. _My name_, he writes,_ is Joseph Wilson_._ I don't know if it's real and I don't know if it's his. I suffered from a form of post-traumatic stress disorder after I got my throat cut. I remember almost nothing from before age nine, and he had stopped being my dad long before that. I don't know anything about him- not his name, not what he looks like. I'm sorry for what he did to you, and I'm sorry I can't tell you what you want to know._

Robin reads this several times, each time growing more and more angry. "Sorry?" he growls. "You're _sorry_ that you may have unwittingly led everyone led everyone this team into the hands of a psychopath?"

Wally looks at him nervously. "Dick…"

"_Not now_, Wally."  
I stand up. "Fuck this," I say. "Are we going to stand here throwing accusations at each other or are we going to do something?"

Robin stares at me for what feels like a very long time. "You're right," he says. "Let's do something."

Wally has also stood up. He looks at Jericho. "Do you know where your brother took Rose?" he asks. He is trying to be nice about it. Damn is he ever too good for me.

Jericho nods and holds out a piece of paper with an address.

_I've been tailing him the last few days_, he writes._ That's where I think he's living._

Wally nods and takes the paper. "Thank you."

"Should we get Toni?" I ask. Robin shakes his head.

"Someone should wait here in case she turns up. Anyway five people's enough."

_Five?_ Jericho writes. _You want me to come?_

"He's your brother."

Silently- well, with no visible response- he grabs his notebook and joins us at the door.

I glare at him. "Anything else we should know about you before we go?"

Jericho shrugs, and then writes something and holds up the paper. _I'm gay._

"Yeah," I reply, turning towards the door. "That's what I figured."

* * *

Grant's apartment building is crumbling to bits. The windows are boarded up and a couple of walls look about ready to fall down. Maybe he's living here, but he sure isn't doing it legally.

"Who uses a fucking abandoned building as their hideout?" I grumble under my breath. I step through the front door- it's just as bad inside as it is out.

"Maybe he's planning to demolish it," Robin suggests. He hasn't looked anyone in the eye since we left and he's talking in near monotone.

"With her inside?" Donna exclaims, her hand flying to her mouth.

"Shh," I command. Fuck, am I ever a bitch today. I'll apologize later. "Don't let him hear you yet."

Wally pulls me aside. "Okay, what's up?" He whispers.

I roll my eyes. "Nothing. I'm just…" Ugh. I feel like I might cry again. "Long day."

He smiles and gently runs a hand through my hair. "Tell me about it. Least we aren't fighting anymore."

I can't help but smile too. "Yeah."

He winces. "So, um, you knew about this thing with Dick?"

"Yeah," I say. "He told me at the conference. He had to give a speech about the thing with Slade"

He glances at Robin. "I get why _you_ didn't say anything, but…"

"He was waiting for the right time," I say.

"It happened a year ago…" he says. He seems frustrated. Makes sense. They've been friends a long time.

"He said it's harder to tell the people he's close to," I say. "I don't even think Starfire knows."

Wally smiles, more sadly this time. "Yeah, that sounds like Dick, alright." He turns to me and his smile grows more genuine. "Anyway, let's get this done. Then I'm gonna go home and make y'all chocolate chip pancakes."

"Y'all?" I tease. He grins and wiggles his eyebrows.

"Well, given the events of today, I'd say all four of my girls deserve chocolate for dinner." He slips his arm through mine. "Don't worry, though. Baby Spice was always my favorite."

"Was she?" I quip, grinning back.

"Oh, yeah. Want me to…"

He is cut off by Donna shrieking. The floor seems to have given way underneath her, and she is clutching the wall, having just narrowly avoided falling in.

"And back to the mission," Wally jokes, drawing out the "and" like a radio announcer. "Donna, you okay?"

"Uh-huh," she squeaks, inching herself away from the broken floor.

"So I'm thinking we shouldn't go that way," Robin says, sounding almost angry.

"Brilliant plan," I grumble. "Maybe we should split up," I suggest. "Cover more ground."

Wally looks nervous. "I don't know," he says. "It's just one building. Maybe I should just search the whole thing, it'll take a couple seconds."

"Don't," Robin says. "We don't know what we're up against."

"A murderous psychopath fathered by another murderous psychopath," Donna exclaims. "What's not to know?"

"Well…" God, I hate that I'm about to suggest this. "Maybe it's not that simple."

To my surprise, Robin does not argue with that. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised. This is, after all, guy who considers himself a villain because he was threatened and blackmailed into it.

"It's not a bad plan," he decides, "but can you really search carefully enough?"

Wally shrugs. "Probably not."

I take another look around the building. The walls are papered in pink-and-white striped wallpaper that has been mostly torn to shreds. The floors are wooden and creaky and look like they're full of termites. This is one shitty evil layer. Unless…

I kneel down and stare into the hole Donna broke in the floor. It's pitch black, no ground in site.

"Did you guys see any down staircases?" I ask. They shake their heads. Yeah, that's what I thought. "He's in the basement."

Wally kneels down next to me and drops of bit of debris into the hole. After a couple of seconds, there's a metallic noise. It has hit ground.

"So should we just jump down?" he asks.

Robin shakes his head. "Not we. I'll go."

Wally looks at him. "Dude, do you really think that's a good idea? Rosie hardly knows you, and…"

Robin suddenly gets very angry again. "Well someone has to go down there."

Wally seems to shrink in place. "Dude, I'm sorry. I'm just trying to look out for you."

"Well I don't need you to-"

"I'll go," I interrupt. "Wally, get the police. The rest of you search the rest of the building, just in case."

"You sure?" Wally asks me. His eyes are soft, warm, and it makes me blush.

"I'll be fine, you go," I reply. He seems nervous about this, but he doesn't say anything. He kisses me on the lips before he speeds off.

Jericho is looking at me with an expression I can't place, but nobody else says anything to me, so I just jump down.

It's not quite as deep as I thought it would be. I manage to land on my feet, one hand on the ground, without it hurting too much. It is, however, just as dark as I imagined. I can barely see two feet in front of me.

I try to get something to glow, give me light to go by, but probability seems to have decided not to work that way. I could probably manage to set something on fire, but that seems like it would do more harm than good. I don't know what's down here or how flammable it is.

The air is dank and heavy, like a sewer. It smells, like Rosie's room, of death.

I can hear Robin and Donna start to talk above me, but I don't pay attention. I find the wall with my hand. It feels like metal, and it's wet, probably with blood, but the smell of blood is already so strong down here that I can't really tell.

This should be fun.

I take a deep breath and start walking forward, keeping my hand on the wall. I don't know what I'm looking for- just some sign that this was a decent plan, I guess. A door, a dead body. Anything that might lead to me Sid… Grant. Whatever. If he's even here.

Oh, God, this was a stupid idea, wasn't it? He's probably not even…

Something hits me in the forehead.

Well, fuck.

* * *

I must have passed out, because the next thing I know my head is throbbing and I'm tied to a metal chair in a small, dark room.

And I hear laughter.

"Walked right into your trap, didn't I?" I ask, even though I can't see who I'm talking to. I struggle against my restraints but I can't get out. It feels like cheap rope, but it's knotted pretty tight.

There's more laughter, but no response. Apparently, I'm dealing with a Joker wannabee in addition to a Slade one.

Okay, now I'm just annoyed. "So are you just gonna laugh, or are we gonna do this?" I snap. "Are you gonna show your face and want to fight me?"

There's a clicking noise and a bare lightbulb turns on. The sudden brightness hurts my eyes. I'm seeing spots.

There is something in the corner of the room, a limp looking shadow.

My eyes clear out.

It's Rosie.

"Fuck," I whisper sharply. She's lying on the floor bloody and battered. I think she's breathing but I'm not close enough to be sure. I start pulling at the rope around my wrist but I can't reach the knot.

"I thought someone would come after me," someone sneers. I recognize the voice immediately- it is, as suspected, Sid-I-mean-Grant. "But I have to say, I had my money on the ginger."

"Not on your brother?" I reply, trying not to let on how much my heart is pounding. I think he's standing right behind me but I can't turn around enough to see.

"Well, I might have, until Rose there-"

"_Rosie_."

He laughs again. He's like a fucking hyena. "She always hated being called that. Before she met you."

"Did she?" I ask. Maybe if I can get him talking, buy myself some time.

He cackles, and suddenly there is a knife on my throat. "The monologue trick? Really think I'd fall for that?"

"Worth a shot," I say. I close eyes and try not to think about the way the metal feels against my skin.

"Well, I guess since you're a captive audience anyway…" he chuckles. "What do you want to know?"

Damn. Now I need to think of a question.

Rosie groans slightly, like she's in pain. Well, at least she's alive.

"What's your plan?" I ask.

"Well, first I kill you." He jabs the knife against my arm, just hard enough to rip through my sleeve and break the skin. It stings and I nearly cry out. You'd think a little superficial cut like this wouldn't bother me, what with how often I've done it to myself, but there you go.

"And then I send the photos to my father, get him to see I'm not such a failure after all."

I feel the blood start to pulse out of my arm and I can think straight again. It always makes it hurt less when they start to bleed.

"So that's what this is about?" I ask. What's the probability of a knot just coming undone without any prompting? I try to focus on it, make it slip open, but it doesn't work. "Just trying to be evil for Daddy?"

"No," he says. "See, after I get his guard down, I'm gonna kill _him_ too. Then I'll be in charge. Won't that be fun?" Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see him lick his lips.

"So how does Rosie figure into this?" I ask.

"Just a bargaining chip," he says. "Dad always wanted deal with her himself."

I move onto trying to get the chair to fall apart, but it seems like it's all one piece of material- no nuts or bolts that could fall out. And metal isn't exactly combustable…

Combustable. Of course.

This is going to ruin Wally's sweatshirt. Also my wrists, but I don't feel so bad about that.

I snap my finger, and the rope bursts into flame.

It hurts like hell, but I make myself ignore the pain. I stand up, throw the rope aside and whirl around to face him.

Grant has removed his prosthetic. There's just a hole in his face where his left eye should be, the skin red and shiny with scars and veins sticking out. It seems out of place with his toothy smile. He looks fucking deranged.

I pick up the chair. "Your turn." And I slam it into him.

The chair glows glows pink and he is thrown against across the room. He hits the wall and then falls to the ground, unconscious.

I rush over to Rosie and roll her onto her back. She's out, but she's alive. She's covered in cuts and bruises, but nothing too serious. Her eye patch has fallen off. The eye socket behind it is just as gruesome as his. I guess it runs in the fucking family.

I pick her patch up off the floor and put it back on her. Poor girl deserves her dignity.

My communicator is hooked onto my belt. I grab it and jab my finger into the buttons, so hard I'm surprised it doesn't short-circuit.

"Wally?" I say, as soon as I get him on the line. He takes one look at my face and starts to worry.

"What happened?" he asks, breathlessly.

"I think I got him?" I say. "Are you back at the building?"

He nods. "Yeah, where are you?"

"The basement?" I guess. "I'm not sure, he knocked me out then took me somewhere." I stand up and try the door. It's locked. I take the chair and I knock it down.

Outside is same dark hallway from before. I can tell by the smell. "Yeah, the basement."

There's a thumping noise from Wally's end, and the screen goes dark. He must have just jumped down that hole. "Jinx?" he says.

"Yeah?"

"Scream. I'll follow your voice."

I laugh dryly. Just make myself scream? That's a tall order. I inhale, but nothing comes out.

I close my eyes and let myself feel the searing pain in my wrists.

I scream Wally's name.

* * *

There is a blur of color, and the next thing I know I'm outside. The sun has set, but the light of the city is still shockingly bright. It takes me a minute to reorient myself. I hear the sirens before I notice the several ambulances and police cars surrounding the building. The police chief is talking to Robin while several other officers are roping off the area. Rosie is lying, still unconscious, on a bench, while Donna sits next to her in tears. Jericho stands next to them, his hands in his pockets.

Screaming seems to have taken a lot out of me, but seconds later the pain hits me again, full force.

"Ow!" I exclaim. "Ow, ow…" I feel the tears start to come. "Ow."

Wally wraps me up in his arms. "God, I'm so glad you're okay," he whispers.

He breaks the hug to ask "Where are you hurt?" I manage to hold up my wrists and he gasps.

"That's like a second degree burn- can we get a medic over here?- what happened?" He says it all in breath, even as he turns to yell into the crowd.

"Um, he tied me up," I choke out. I'm in so much pain I can barely speak. I feel like there are bugs crawling in my skin and biting me. "I made the rope combust."

"While it was around your wrists?" he exclaims.

I cough. I seem to have inhaled smoke too. "Seemed like a good idea at the time."

A woman in a paramedic uniform comes over to me. Wally starts talking rapid fire.

"Is she gonna be okay, does she need to go to the hospital, is there anything I can do, is…"

"Wally, calm down," I say. He makes a noise like a puppy dog and hugs me again.

The paramedic inspects my wrists and my now partly-melted medical bracelet. "She'll be fine," she tells him. She turns to me. "It's second degree but it's not too bad. You should see a doctor to make sure it's not infected, but you'll be okay." She smiles. "I'm sure you guys have faced worse, right?"

"Part of the job," I say. I wince at the pain.

"Stay here," she says. "Let me get you something for that."

I breathe heavily and sit down on the sidewalk. Wally sits next to me and puts his arms around my waist, like he's trying to protect me. He's so sweet. I manage a smile.

"Sorry about your sweatshirt," I say. My throat's sore and I can't talk above a whisper.

"It's okay, I like purple and bloody. Date you, don't I?" he jokes. I laugh, but then laughing hurts so I just lean my head on his chest.

The paramedic comes back with medicine and bandages. Just as she begins to wrap them around my wrists, a police officer comes out of the building with Grant, conscious again and in a straight jacket.

Donna sees him. She rises to her feet.

"You _bastard_!" she shrieks. I've never heard her talk like that. "How dare you! How dare you use me to hurt a nine-year old girl like that! If you ever, _ever_ come near her or any of us again, I will personally _bash your head in_, do you hear me?"

"Loud and clear," he replies. The officer brings him to a police car, and I hear his laughter even after they shut the door.

Rosie suddenly bolts up. She's got a cut that stretches all the way across her forehead and her skin is shaded red and purple. "G-Grant, what…" She looks around, realizing where she is. "G-guys? Where… What happened?"

"He tried to send you back to your father," I say.

"Jinx got him," Wally adds.

"Oh," she whimpers. "I… I, um…"

Jericho puts a hand on her shoulder, and she snaps.

"Don't touch me!" she screams. "Don't touch me, don't look at me, don't…" She starts throwing punches at him, too short to reach anything above his legs. "How could you let this happen, why didn't you say anything, I know you knew, I know you…"

Wally jumps up and rushes over to them. He pulls her off Jericho and she collapses into his arms in tears.

"I was so scared," she whimpers. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

Wally makes a shushing noise and rubs her back. "It's okay. It's okay, sweetheart, you're safe now."

Jericho reaches a hand out, like he might try to comfort her.

He puts it back in his pocket. I think it's killing him to do so.

* * *

It's a past midnight when we finish going through things with the police and get home. Grant, they said, will either be committed to an asylum or he'll go to jail. Either way he'll be locked up.

I wake up in the middle of the night, thanks to the pain in my wrists, and decide to go the kitchen for painkillers and a cup of tea. When I get there, I find Wally at the counter, in his pajamas, resting his head on one hand and holding the phone in the other, tears in his eyes.

"Hey," I say. He looks up at me, wipes his eyes and smiles.

"Oh, I didn't know you were up," he says. "Are your wrists okay?"

"They kinda hurt," I answer. I sit down next to him. "What's wrong?

He shrugs. "My dad just called."

"In the middle of the night?"

"Well, he knows I don't really sleep," Wally says, his voice cracking. "Apparently I missed an important rehearsal dinner."

"Oh, fuck, that was tonight?"

"Yeah. And now I'm officially uninvited to the wedding."

"Seriously?" I ask. "Did you tell him you were stopping a homicide lunatic?"

He nods. "Didn't make a difference to him."

"You want me to make his car break down?"

Wally laughs, and that laughter quickly turns into sobs.

"Oh, Wally…" I hug him, and he rests his head on my shoulder and cries.

"People suck, huh?" I say. He sort of laughs at that.

"Well, you can't pick your family."

"Can't you?" I reply. "I mean, who says they're the ones who have to matter?"

He doesn't say anything, just smiles and hugs me back.

_Is it over? Is it over, I said, is it over? Is it?_

_Someone speaks softly through the horror and pain:_

"_Love has gone, but it could come again"  
Spring arrives quietly, warming her skin  
Her heart, now red, is beating again  
Oh, it's over_

* * *

Author's notes:

I actually think this turned out pretty okay, all things considered. XD

I don't really like writing big, action-y, "heroes saving the world" epic type of stories, partly because I don't think I'm very good at it and partly because I'm just more interested in smaller, more personal stories. This one… Falls somewhere in the middle, I guess, and I'm not too sure how I feel about that. Really, I just kind of wrote myself into a corner years ago by deciding to adapt Rose from the comics years, and I guess I made out… Well, it could have been worse XD. One thing I really didn't want to do, though, was to sort of solve the mystery of Slade. Frankly, I don't think I could do that sort of story justice, and even if I did, that is Dick and Gar's story and I didn't want to tell it here. So I'm sorry if Jericho's lack of knowledge about Slade and exactly what was going on seemed like a bit of a cop-out. I just really didn't want to go there in this story.

The thing that sort of connects the plotlines of this story- I guess it's a "theme", but I don't like to write "themes". I write about people. XD- is family. There are a lot of different family situations going on, and they all sort of mirror and/or conflict with each other. Anyway, the point is: Wally is essentially Rosie's big brother. Jericho knows that. Even though he is her biological brother, she will never think of him the same way she thinks of Wally, and he knows that. I think it's kind of sad and kind of interesting. Joey's a bit of a tragic figure here- he just wants to mend his family, but he knows there's no way to do that without hurting his sister, who he really does care about. So he lets her go. Also, Joey's's gay. XD I don't know why I decided that, it just fit. And statistically, someone on the Titans had to be, right? XD I've sort of established Speedy as bi in my other story, _Trainspotting_, and now I'm trying to work in a joke about them having made out once. XD

I have things to say about Dick and Wally but these author's notes are already really long (sorry) so I'll do it another time. XD And Jinx got to be all brave and heroic and of course she snarked her way through it and that's all I have to say about that, really.

Also, I've been updating really frequently the last few weeks, and while I really, really hope I can keep up the pace, I start college in like four days, so I can't promise that. But I can promise that I'll finish this as soon as I can. I really want to move on to the sequel I have in mind, which I think will be a much, much better story. XD Though it might be a while before I start it because I'm still working out the plot.

Title and lyrics from "Someone Speaks Softly" by Hannah Fury.


	14. Vindicated

Vindicated

"Rosie, I don't want to patronize you."

We are all sitting on the living room couch. Rosie has been staring at the floor, but she looks at Robin after he says that. "I'm nine. I don't know what that means," she says.

"It means," Robin explains, "that I don't want to talk to you like I think I'm better than you because I'm older. I don't. I want you to know I understand what you're going through."

She gives a small nod. "Okay."

"But, Rosie… Why didn't you say anything?" he asks. "If you knew something about Slade, or your brothers…"

"I didn't know!" she snaps.

"Rosie," Wally soothes. She is gripping his hand- she basically hasn't let go of him since yesterday. It's kind of cute and kind of sad.

She takes a deep breath. "I didn't know," she says again. "I mean, I knew he was my father but I didn't know what Grant was planning or that he was behind this or that… I didn't know."

"And we believe you, really," Robin says. "But…"

"Dick, maybe we should…" Donna begins. She jerks her head in Rosie's direction.

"Should what?" Rosie asks, defensively.

Oh, let's just give it to her straight. "Rosie, do you mind leaving the room so we can talk about you?"

She looks at me, her expression hard. "Okay," she says. "But only 'cause you asked so nicely." She stands up and storms out of the room in a huff.

Damn that kid is turning into me.

The door slams shut, and Robin sinks his head into his hands. "I'm sorry," he says. "I didn't handle this well, did I?"

Wally shakes his head. "No, Dick, don't, don't blame yourself."

"I should have known something was up. We should have had this conversation months ago. We shouldn't _be_ in this situation." He looks up, tears in his eyes. "I should have told you."

Wally clasps onto my hand. "Dick, I get why you didn't," he says.

"I wouldn't have been able to tell you guys something like that," Donna adds softly.

Robin shuts his eyes. Glasses or no, I can never get used to seeing them. "But it's not an excuse."

Jericho signs something. "He says it's not your fault," Toni translates. "He says he should have said something too."

"We all should have," I add. "But we didn't."

The room falls silent. I lean my head on Wally's shoulder, and he rests his on top of mine.

Robin is the one to break the silence. "Wally, I'm sorry I snapped at you yesterday."

"Well, I guess you still be my friend," Wally jokes. His expression goes serious. "Really, I'm not mad. Not at all."

Robin sighs. "I guess I just have to tell Star, now, don't I?"

Wally shrugs. "Do you want help?"

Robin gives him a sad smile. "No, but thanks for offering." He clears his throat. "So, back to Rosie… What do we do with her now?"

"Nothing," I say. "We can't let this change things her. Otherwise she'll just think that…" I can't bring myself to finish, for some stupid reason.

Wally runs his fingers across the scars on my arm. I don't think he realizes he's doing it. "That we think she's a bad guy," he finishes.

"Yeah," I say. "That."

"Maybe we should have her go to public school," Donna suggests. "Instead of having her homeschooled. Maybe it would be good for her to be a normal kid."

"She'll never be a normal kid," I say, under my breath.

Jericho writes something down. _You're right, she won't. Which makes it more important that we give her some semblance of a normal life. _

It's probably nice to be able to see things that way. My brain is just churning up the worst-case scenario- she'll hate it, she'll be made fun of, it'll make it worse. God, I hope that's not what happens. "Do you want to tell her she has to go to school?"

He half-smiles and shakes his head. _Wally should do it_, he writes. I kind of figured he'd say that.

"Yeah, if you're sure," Wally says quickly. "I mean, I don't wanna, like, infringe on your…" His eyes widen- he seems to have suddenly realized what Jericho is thinking. Without missing a beat, he moves on to the next thought. "Hey, you're eighteen, right?" Jericho nods. "Have you thought about, like, establishing legal guardianship or something?"

Jericho starts to write something, then puts the pen down and instead turns to Toni and signs it. It is easier for him, I guess, to have it come from someone else.

She bites her lip. "I'm sure she'd…" she starts to respond to him, before turning to the rest of us. "He says he's not sure she'd want that."She looks back at him. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind. If nothing else, it would help keep her away from your father."

Jericho nods, then hands Wally a slip of paper. _You should ask her that too._ Wally folds the paper in half and doesn't say anything. He's still upset about his dad. I don't think this is helping.

Robin's communicator starts beeping. "It's Rae," he says, "I've got to go." He looks at Wally. "Do you mind?"

Wally shakes his head, shaking himself out of his thoughts. "No," he says, jumping off of the couch. "Just…" He's making his puppy dog face. "Dude, can I hug you?"  
Robin laughs. "Just this once."

They hug- Robin's a bit awkward about it, but Wally is decidedly not. Donna stands up and puts a hand on Robin's shoulder, and Wally pulls her into the embrace.

"Dick, if you ever need to talk…" she begins.

"I know," Robin says, before she can finish. "Thank you."

Robin breaks the hug and looks at me. "Oh, before I go… Remember that background check you asked me to run on Mercury Lace?"  
"Yeah," I reply. "What about it?"

"Her files seemed kind of odd to me, so I was keeping tabs on her and…" He takes a folded newspaper clipping out of his pocket. "Well, you'll never guess who I found."

The newspaper clipping is a photograph headlined "WHO IS JABBERWOCK?". It is taken from very far away- a reporter's lucky shot- but there is no mistaking who it is, if only because of the bright copper color of his hair.

Speedy.

"He's calling himself Jabberwock?" I exclaim. "He does know that's a parody of bad poetry, right?"

"Apparently not," Robin replies, dryly. "According to the press, he's also stealing and seems to have been involved in a train robbery. The case just blew up in Santa Fe practically overnight. He got sloppy and someone caught him on film. He's working with a group of girl, but Mercury Lace is the only other one who's been identified."  
Fuck. I mean, it was one thing when he left months ago but… Well, I never thought he'd turn into a villain. I wonder if he even found Cheshire. She's the reason he left, after all.

"What are you gonna do about it?" Wally asks. Robin shrugs.

"I think I'm going to let Bee decide," he says. "But after what he did to you, you guys deserve a say, if you want one."

Well, he did blackmail me. Still, I don't really care what happens to him. "Whatever," I say.

"Yeah, whatever you and Bee want's cool," Wally adds. Robin just nods.

Wally speeds off, Robin in tow, leaving the rest of sitting in a broken circle around a very quiet room.

"So who wants to run damage control?" I ask, because somebody has to ask it.

"You should do it," Toni tells me.

I wince and pick at the bandages around my wrist. I usually fidget with my jewelry, but the bandages are preventing me from wearing any. "Me?"

Toni shrugs. "She likes you."

"She's mad at me."

"But you _get_ her." Toni sighs. "I just mean… I think it would mean something to her, coming from you."

It's a good point, as much as I hate to admit it. "Alright, fine." I stand up and head for the door. Something tells me Rosie didn't actually go far- she's probably listening on the other side of the wall.

The door slides open and there she is. Well, no surprise. She's slumped on the floor, her knees to her chest.  
I sit down next to her. "Hey, Rosie." She glances at me, then looks back at her feet.

"I swear I wasn't listening," she says.

"Didn't say you were," I reply.

She's silent for a moment, and then, "I thought Wally was 'sposed to talk to me."

"I thought you weren't listening."

She raises her eyebrows. Cover blown. "Maybe just a little," she admits.

"He will," I say. "I'm not here to do the serious talking. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," she says, shrugging. Her shoulders seem to go up to her ears. "I'm not still mad at you."

"God, you really _were_ listening…" I shift my legs, trying to get her more at eye level. Compared to her I'm practically tall. It's not something I'm used to.

"Going with Grant was stupid," I tell her.

She nods solemnly. "I know."

"But," I say, "You were right about something."

She looks up at me, her single eye wide. "I was?"  
I nod. "You and me are a lot alike, Rosie. I've done a lot of stupid shit too."

"Yeah, you have."

"Thanks."

She presses her lips together. "I'm glad you two aren't fighting anymore."

"Yeah," I say. "Me too."

"'Cause if you can turn out okay…" she continues. She rubs her eye with the back of her hand. "Well maybe that means I can too."

It's quite the sentiment, and I don't know how to respond to it. What would I have wanted, when I was nine? Just for someone to give me a hug, probably.

So that's what I do. I'm not going to let her have to wait four more years for someone to care.

* * *

It is Rosie, I guess, who inspires me to do it.

Hannah and I meet outside of Audrey's goddamn hospital room, because she refused to do it anywhere else. She looks at me with the same fury in her eyes as the last time I saw her.

"What do you want?" she snaps.

God, I don't know how to do this. "Hannah, I'm sorry," I say. I don't mean it. "I swear I was just trying to help."

"To help Audrey, or to help yourself feel better?"  
I raise my eyebrows. "A little of both."

Hannah scoffs. A doctor whizzes by with a patient passed out on a hospital bed. She doesn't even glance at them.

The fluorescent hospital light buzzes. I need to say _something_. "Look, Hannah, I don't know you or Audrey that well…"

"No you don't."

"And I'm not a part of your family."

She crosses her arms but doesn't respond to that.

"But you have to see that there's a problem," I say. It feels like a plea and that makes me feel pathetic. "They abandoned two children. And, you know, I'm sure they had their justifications for that, but…" I throw my hands up. Does that mean that I surrender?

"It's not fair to expect her to keep living with them," I say. "It's not fair to _her_."

Hannah's face softens. "Jinx…" Well at least she called me by my name.

"Look, I'm not asking you to like me," I interrupt. "Fuck, I don't even like me half the time. And I'll stay out of your way, I promise. Just… Just consider being her legal guardian, will you?"

"Okay," she whispers, nodding. "Okay." She doesn't say anything else as she turns and disappears into Audrey's hospital room, her brown braid swinging behind her.

I have the vaguest memory, in the back of my mind, of a little girl, maybe five, doe eyes and a teddy bear and brown braids.

I wonder if it's her.

* * *

"You're Jinx, right?"

I am waiting on a bench in the hallway, and have been spotted there by Audrey's doctor. Dr. Harrison is a short woman with black hair and freckles. We've been in the same room once or twice but never had a conversation.

"Yeah, that's me," I say.

"Are you here to visit Audrey?" she asks.

I shake my head. "Just waiting for my ride." I can't really bring myself to explain what I was actually here for.

She nods, then notices my wrists. "What happened?"

"Superhero stuff, no big" I say, shrugging. Come to think of it I still need to see a doctor about it. "Actually, if you have a minute, do you think you could take a look at them? I haven't had a chance to see a doctor about it yet."

"Sure," she says. She sits down next to me and unwraps the bandages. The skin is still red and blistered and hurts a bit when she touches it. "That's a pretty bad burn."

"Made a rope catch fire while it was tied around my wrists," I explain. "Made sense at the time." She smiles. There is a flash of color, as Wally rushes into the building.

"Hey, sorry, I'm late," he says, "how'd it…" He sees Dr. Harrison and changes his train of thought. "Getting your wrists checked out?"

"Yup."

He flops onto the bench next to me and swings an arm around my shoulders. "That's a good idea." He kisses my check. "So how'd it go?"

"I think it'll work out for her," I say. "I don't know. I'm not sure there's much else I can do. You talk to Rosie yet?"

He nods. "I think we're good. She likes the idea of going to school. Less good with Jericho being her guardian but I think it's okay."

Dr. Harrison wraps a new bandage around my wrist. "These look like they're starting to heal," she tells me. "I'll prescribe you a topical medicine- just be sure to change the bandages a couple times a day. And an anti-biotic too, just in case of infection."

"She's allergic to penicillin," Wally says quickly. "And this one time she has a really weird reaction to…"

I smile. He's always looking out for me. "Wally, it's fine," I say. "Just not penicillin," I tell Dr. Harrison.

She nods and stands up. "Wait here," she says, before walking into an office nearby.

I turn towards Wally. "So how are you?"  
He smiles, a little. "I'm okay," he says.

"'Cause we could always crash it."

He laughs. "Nah," he decides. "It's probably better I don't go and have to see my dad."

"You mad at him?" I ask.  
He considers this, for a fraction of a second. "No," he realizes. "Disappointed. But I'm too used to it to be mad."

"But you thought maybe this time it'd be different?"

He exhales heavily. "Yeah."

I rest my hand on his. "You sure you're okay?"

He grins. "Got you, don't I?"

I roll my eyes. "God, you're so cheesy."

The door to Audrey's room opens, and Hannah steps out. "Oh, you're still here?" To my surprise, she doesn't sound angry. I mean, it's not like she's happy about it, but it's not an accusation. It's a statement of fact.

I hold my hand up. "Getting my latest spoils of war appraised." Wally chuckles at that.

And that's when it hits me, like lightning.

Audrey has cancer.

I have a lot of fucking allergies.

"Hannah, can I ask you something totally weird?" I say. She raises an eyebrow at me.

"Um, okay."

"Your..." Our? It doesn't matter. "Your mother. When she was pregnant with me, was she… Did she get any injuries or sicknesses or something?"

Hannah scrunches her face up as she thinks. "Um… Come to think of it, yeah, she burnt herself on the stove. I remember we had to go the emergency room in the middle of the night because Dad was freaking out and thought it looked infected…" She smiles distantly. "Why?"

Infected.

Well, that's what I thought.

"No reason," I say. "Just… Curious about my medical history."

"Oh, okay then," Hannah says. She starts to walk away, then turns back to look at me. "Do you… Want to meet them?"  
Meet them. The parents. My parents. Do I want to meet them?

I guess part of me is curious. I don't know anything about them, not even their names. I mean, they are the people who gave me their genetics. Part of me wants to meet them just to prove to myself that I'm nothing like them.

But I can't do it. I just can't. The fact is, I don't want anything to with them.

They're not my parents.

"No, thanks." I say.

"Oh, okay, then" Hannah says again, like a nervous habit. "I'll see you around, then?"

"Yeah," I say. And then she leaves.

Wally's looking at me funny. "Jinx, you don't think…"

"You got struck by lightning," I remind him. I find myself staring straight ahead at the plain white hospital walls. They are the color of chalk. Of my skin. Of Audrey's. "Audrey got sick. There's always a trigger."

He interlaces his fingers with mine. "Are you going to call her?" he asks.

He is talking about Katie, the nurse who raised me at the mental hospital. The one who gave me my name.

The woman who is, essentially, my mother.

He's had her number forever, since he found my birth certificate months ago. I just haven't been brave- or stupid, one of the two- enough to call it.

"Yeah," I say. "I am." I don't know what makes this time different, but I'm ready to call her.

Dr. Harrison comes back, a slip of paper in her hands. She takes one look at me and asks "Is something wrong?" I thought I was doing a better job of hiding it, but apparently not.

I sit up and fold my arms over my chest. "No, just… Just thinking about Audrey, I guess."

Dr. Harrison nods. "She's doing all right," she tells me. "Her body is fighting back pretty hard- I've never seen anything like it, actually. It's almost like something supernatural is…" She smiles, shaking her head as she hands me the prescription. "Well, I guess that's possible, huh? She is your sister."

I slump back down as soon as she leaves. "Audrey thinks her powers made her sick," I say. "She must have been sick the whole time. Even before they…"

I lean my head on my hands. Wally pulls me close and gently strokes my hair. "Jinx, you know what this means, don't you?"  
I guess I don't. "What?"

"Her powers are _fighting_ the disease," he says. "Jinx, if your mother was taking a medicine you were allergic to when she was pregnant… You probably went into anaphylactic shock or someyjing. You powers must've kicked in to keep you from…" He actually starts to cry.

"Jinx, your powers saved your life."

My god.

He's right, isn't he?

I lean my head on his chest. I feel like I could start crying too.

At least I have him.

I wouldn't, if I didn't have my powers.

All this time I thought they'd ruined my life.

* * *

I call the number, alone in my room at nearly midnight. My room seems uncomfortable still, quiet. The ringing on the other line reminds me of a siren. Danger warning, turn back now. I should just hang up.

I don't.

"St. Claire's Home for Troubled Girls." The receptionist is a perky sounding young woman. Not troubled at all.

"I, um…" My throat feels full of sand. I swallow. "Is Katie Parkington there?"

"She is, may I ask who's calling?"

"It's… It's Jinx."

I can literally hear her phone drop onto the floor.

"Katie! Katie!"

There's are shuffling noises, footsteps, and then, "Yeah?"

I haven't heard her voice in over ten years. She sounds the same.

"It's her."

There's another noise- Katie, I'm assuming, has clambered for the phone.

"Jinx?" she says. I think she's crying.

I bite my lip. What do I say to her? It'll be the first thing she'll hear from me in all these years. Where do I even start?

"Hi," I say, finally. Pathetic, really, but it's a start.

* * *

Katie invites Wally and me over to her house for dinner the next day. She lives in a suburb of San Diego, in a little beach-y looking house. My stomach is in knots.

Wally squeezes my hand. "You'll be fine."

"I sure fucking hope so," I say, under my breath.

He smiles and kisses me.

And then I ring the doorbell.

I hear someone running down the hall and the door flies open.

It's Katie.

She's about thirty-six now, I think. Her hair used to be blonde but she's dyed it a chestnut brown. She's wearing a wedding ring that wasn't there before and she looks about five months pregnant.

But it's her.

"Hi," I say. I hope my nerves aren't showing.

She doesn't say anything, just flings her arms around me and sobs and I can't tell if she's crying out of happiness or sadness.

"I'm sorry," I say.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm so happy to see you. I'm so…"

She breaks the hug and holds me at arm's length, so she can look at me.

"God, you've gotten so beautiful," she says. She turns to Wally. "And you must be the boyfriend."

He grins and sticks his hand out. "Wally."

She hugs him instead of shaking his hand. "Thank you," she says.

Wally runs a hand through his hair, his cheeks red. "I didn't do anything."  
"Please, I read newspapers," she says, just a bit sarcastically. "I know what you did for her. I don't know how to thank you enough."

She looks back at me, tearing up again. "And you…" She doesn't finish.

"I'm sorry," I say again. "I'm so, so sorry. I should have… I should have said something, or called you after I ran away or…"

Now I'm starting to cry. "I was just so scared you'd hate me."

Katie wraps me in her arms again. "I could never hate you," she whispers.

And then I really do start to cry.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" I can't seem to come up with anything else to says. It's just years of guilt pouring out like a flood.

She hugs me tighter. "Before you ran away…" she says, her voice choppy with tears. "I… I never got the chance to tell you, but… I was going to adopt you."

"You were?" I ask. She nods. My throat feels all choked up and I can't manage a response.

"I love you," she says. "You know that, right?"

Well, I guess I do now.

* * *

Wally and I both end up falling asleep on her couch after dinner. He nudges me awake at the crack of dawn.

I rub my eyes. "What time is it?" I ask, groggily.

"Like seven Chicago time. We should probably get home," he says, grinning.

I raise an eyebrow. "What are you smiling at?"

"Nothin'," he says, in a sing-song tone. "You're just really cute when you're waking up."

"Yeah, well you're awful perky for seven in the fucking morning," I groan.

He laughs. The dawns streaming through the windows streaks light across his face. "Maybe I'm just happy to see you."

I can't help but smile at that. "You're sweet," I say.

"Yeah, together we must make sweet and sour sauce," he quips. I shake my head.

"Not your best line," I say. He laughs again.

I leave Katie a note- I don't want her to think I'm running away again. He stands in the doorway of her kitchen, sun streaming through the windows as he stares at me.

"What?" I ask.

"I didn't say anything."

"You're staring."

He blushes. "I'm just… I'm really glad I met you."

Oh. I get it. My life could have turned out a lot of ways, after all.

I think it worked out for the best.

I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. "I love you, Wally."

He smiles. "I love you too, Jinx."

We kiss, in that sun-soaked kitchen, and he makes me feel warmer than the sun does. He always makes me feel that way. I hope I make him feel that way too.

_And I am flawed  
But I am cleaning up so well  
I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself_

_Slight hope  
It dangles on a string  
Like slow spinning redemption..._

* * *

Author's Notes:

Well this story is done. It's really sort of a half-assed ending but I just don't think this story is any good and I wanted to finish it and move on. I thought about making this two chapters but then I didn't want to think up two titles. XD And that ending is cheesy and awful but I couldn't think of anything that didn't suck. I'm sorry.

One thing in particular that I was really lazy about: I introduced the character of Katie in the prequel, but I forgot to re-introduce her earlier in this story. And while I'm guessing most of you have read the prequel and knew what I was talking about, it still doesn't carry as much emotional weight as it should. My bad. XD For that matter, I'm not sure I ever mentioned Speedy's not being there either- he left in the prequel, for those who haven't read it, to find Cheshire. XD That was intended as more of an in-joke (well, not a joke. An in-plot point), really. It's sort of bonus material for _Trainspotting_, because the decision being discussed here is going to come back to haunt Roy and the Siren girls.

Oh and I said last time I'd talk about Dick and Wally so here it is: In a lot of ways, I see these two as foils. Dick is logical, introverted and stoic to Wally's emotionally driven, extroverted and passionate. And because of this, in their worst moments- when Dick is being, well, a dick and Wally's temper is flaring, they tend to butt heads, but at the end of the day, they really do care about each other. I think their friendship is rather sweet.

Oh, really, I'm just glad this thing is done. Now I never ever have to look at it again. XD

So there will be a sequel to this, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to start it, nor am I sure of the title yet. (Just keep an eye on my profile or author alert me or something, I guess?) I promise the sequel won't suck quite so much. XD In the meantime, it would really mean a lot to me if you guys would consider checking out my other ongoing story, _Trainspotting_, which follows Speedy after he left the Titans in the _Breaking Free_. I really think it's some of my best work but hardly anyone seems to be reading it and I'd love to get more feedback on it.

Lastly, I want to thank all of the readers of this story! Thank you all for all the support and kind words! And for taking the time out of your day to read this and sticking through it when there weren't updates for a while! You guys rock! I hope you like this story more than I do. XD

Title and lyrics from "Vindicated" by Dashboard Confessional.


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